A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint people (known as ‘attorneys’) to make decisions on your behalf. It could be used if you became unable to make your own decisions. There are 2 types of lasting power of attorney; Health and welfare or Property and financial affairs. You can choose to make one type or both.
Will, Trust, and Protect can arrange everything you need to create a lasting power of attorney for you or other family members.
You must appoint an executor or executors to administer your will when you die. Will, Trust and Protect can help with the administration of these appointments.
There are laws that govern how much inheritance tax has to be paid on your estate, and this depends largely on how much has been left. The rules can be complex, so professional help from Will, Trust and Protect can help you plan your estate in a way that minimises any liability for such taxes when your loved ones inherit your estate.
f you do not have a valid Will in place, the state has rules as to who inherits, and this may not be the same as what you wished for. By having a professionally written will you ensure that your wishes are carried out, and that those who you want to benefit from any money or property will receive what you intended. A Will can also determine who becomes responsible for surviving children if you are a single or separated parent. Our experienced Will writing experts can help ensure that in all cases your wishes are carried out.
A trust is a way of managing assets (money, investments, land or buildings) for people. There are different types of trusts and they are taxed differently. Trusts are set up for a number of reasons, including to control and protect family assets, or when someone’s too young to handle their own financial affairs, or when someone can’t handle their affairs because they become a vulnerable adult.
Trusts can also be used to pass on assets while you’re still alive, or to pass on assets when you die (a ‘will trust’), or under the rules of inheritance if someone dies without a Will (in England and Wales).
Trusts involve:
At Will, Trust and Protect we have the expertise and experience to help you create a Trust that will benefit you, and your family’s future whilst best protecting your estate.
When someone dies, you may be able to apply for a ‘grant of representation’. This gives you the legal right to deal with the person’s property, money and possessions (their ‘estate’). The right to deal with the estate of someone who’s died is called ‘probate’. You don’t normally need a grant if the estate either passes to the surviving spouse/civil partner because it was held in joint names e.g. a savings account, or if the estate does not include land, property or shares, but in most cases it is advisable to establish probate to avoid any future issues with surviving relatives or loved ones of the deceased.
Will, Trust and Protect are partners with Help with Probate, the UK’s leading support organisation on the subject, and we are also able to offer expert fixed rate probate services through a panel of expert solicitors, to give beneficiaries and executors of an estate piece of mind when it is most important.
It is not uncommon to change the contents of a will, and minor changes can usually be made on a yearly basis without charge. However if you want to make a major change such as changing beneficiaries then we advise that you contact us to write a new will.
