Category: Wills and Probate

Family, friends and carers can all play an incredibly important part in assisting someone in need of care. Yet, why with such important roles do conflicts arise between family and carers? In this article, we look at the ways in which conflict can arise, and the methods to resolve those conflicts with one objective in mind, to care for the individual in need. 

Often when a loved one becomes so ill they are unable to do those things they once could do, it can be difficult for that person’s nearest and dearest to accept the reality that they now face. Many emotions, thoughts and feelings can be experienced by family members, including the person in need of care. At such times, many might feel helpless and are likely to feel strongly that they want to help the person who is poorly in whatever way they can. 

Conflicts between carers and family members, and even family members amongst themselves, can arise where everyone is working individually and are not communicating with one another. In such situations mis-understandings can arise, there can be disagreements as to the correct type of care, where to receive that care and even who can visit the person who is sick. 

Such conflicts can lead to the person in need of care feeling very alone and un-supported, especially where family members may drift away as a result of conflicts that have arisen or where they feel they are no longer needed as a result of the person in need having a carer. 

This can be a particularly disheartening time for families, including carers who might feel that they have failed to deliver the best service, or have let the person in need of care down.

How can we resolve these conflicts?

The first and foremost way to resolve conflict might be to help all family, friends and carers to understand that they usually all have the same intentions in mind; to care for, and help, the person in need. When it is understood that they can all work as a team to help the person together, it can often ease tensions when they arise. Use this mutual position to work together, and let your loved one know that you are there to support them together. 

Once you have understood that your intentions are often the same, try to understand one another; don’t be shy to ask one another questions. Why did the conflict arise? Why do you feel a certain way? Have a discussion about your thoughts and feelings and how you can progress forward in the best way, and try to be honest and open with each other. Communication is incredibly important, if you find yourselves in an argument or a heated conversation, step away and take some time to reflect, and most importantly remember that the most important thing is looking after the person who is unwell. 

It is important to stay calm, with a clear mind you are in a better position to make the best decisions for everyone involved; put your emotions to one side and think about the situation for what is it. Remember that you can all work as a team with the same objective in mind.

Where you find that everyone is not on the same page, sit down and make decisions together. Think about what everyone’s strengths are, and where their passions lie; for example, one family member may love cooking and make the most nutritious and healthy meals, therefore you might consider allocating the responsibility for food to this person. Another person may love to play the piano, perhaps this person should be responsible for an evening of music for all to enjoy. 

Each and every person, be it family, friends or carers each play a significant role in caring; individually and together. Keep this in mind and allocate regular time slots to come together and have discussions on how things should progress moving forward. In an ever-changing life, particularly in the current circumstances where times are incredibly uncertain, it is always good to have regular catch ups to avoid any misunderstanding and so that everyone is effectively ‘singing from the same song sheet’. 

Use the carers valuable knowledge and experience, together you can make an even bigger difference for the person in need. Don’t forget to remind each other, particularly the person in need of care that you are not alone, you have each other; individually and as a team you can do this. 

Safeguarding concerns 

Unfortunately, there can be circumstances where not everyone has the right or the best intentions at heart. In such circumstances safeguards need to be put in place to protect the person who is unwell. 

In order to protect yourself in the eventuality that you might become unwell and be unable to make decisions for yourself in the future you should consider appointing an attorney to make these decisions for you by way of a Lasting Power of Attorney. Attorneys can make decisions about your health and welfare or your property and finance on your behalf. Unlike the Lasting Power of Attorney for Finance and Property the Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare can only be used where you are unable to make decisions about your health and welfare for yourself. You should always consider appointing a person or persons that you trust to be your Attorneys. 

In the event that the person who is unwell needs protection from a person or persons who may not have the best intentions at heart, it is vitally important that families and carers come together and regularly review the progress of the person who is unwell. If you notice something suspect, don’t ignore it; come together and carefully review the situation for what it is and consider the options available to resolve the matter. If you are unable to find a solution, don’t be hesitant to contact a professional for advice; if the issue is very serious seek legal advice.   

If you would like to put in place Lasting Power of Attorneys, please contact us now at jgani@astonbond.co.uk for a free initial consultation. 

 

At Aston Bond, our Private Client department prides itself on going the extra mile for our Clients. So when our Clients’ started having to pay more Inheritance Tax than others simply because the Client had no children of their own, Jade Gani (Solicitor & Head of Private Client) thought she would do something about it. 

The Residence Nil Rate Band: 

At current rates, everybody has an individual initial Inheritance Tax allowance of £325,000.00 that applies against their Estate. Anything up to this amount is passed to your beneficiaries’ tax free. It doesn’t matter what assets your Estate consists of, or who you pass it to, the allowance simply applies. 

In recent years, the government have introduced an additional allowance known as the Residence Nil Rate Band allowance. This initially started as an extra £100,000.00 allowance and has increased each year to its current maximum of £175,000.00, where it will stay for the foreseeable future. However, this allowance is not as flexible as the ordinary Nil Rate Band allowance as it has a few caveats to it. 

Firstly, you must own an interest in a property that you have used as your main residence. Then you must leave that interest to “lineal descendants”, which the government largely defines as your children, grandchildren, step-children, adopted children and foster children. You also can’t leave the property to your children in most types of Trust without forfeiting the allowance. 

The government has stated that they expect this allowance will mean “the proportion of estates with a residence being left to direct descendants may be expected to increase as people change their wills over time so that their estates can benefit from the main Residence Nil Rate Band to a greater extent.” Meaning that it helps deter families tying up assets in trusts and ensuring the next generation get the helping hand they need. 

The Problem:

The main issue with the legislation is that it disproportionately effects the increasing number of people who do not have children. According to a Telegraph report, in 2016 nearly half of women aged below 30 did not have children, and 18% of women aged 31-45 were childless too. Using Statista records from 2018 this means that of the total women aged 20 to 40 years, there are approximately 5.94 million women who do not have children of their own. Of course, this figure would increase considerably if we include childless men too. 

If a person is not able to claim the Residence Nil Rate Band then it could mean their beneficiaries miss out on saving £70,000.00 in tax for individuals (or £140,000.00 for couples). This saving could make a huge difference to the younger generation who are notoriously struggling to get on the property ladder themselves. However, the government claim they have “no evidence to suggest that the measure will have any significant adverse equalities impacts”.

The Solution: 

Nearly all of the Clients that we see who do not have children of their own, tell us that they want to leave their Estate to their nieces and nephews because they “consider them to be like children” of their own. If the government’s true intention is to ensure the passing of assets down generations, then surely there is no reason why they can’t change the legislation to include nieces and nephews (by blood or marriage) too. 

That is why we are petitioning the government to make a change to the legislation accordingly. If you, or anyone you know could benefit from this change and would like to sign the petition the link can be found here:-

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/326525 

If you have any questions about this petition, your Estate or the Inheritance Tax regime, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01753 486777 

Section 9 of the Wills Act 1937 sets out the requirements for a valid Will. One of those being, that ‘no Will shall be valid unless… (c) the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time, and another being that … (d) ‘each witness either attests and signs the Will or acknowledges his signature in the presence of the testator (but not necessarily in the presence of any other witness) but no form of attestation shall be necessary. 

With the whole country being in lockdown the last few months, and the concerns of COVID-19, a vast number of people have been using this time to prepare their Wills and put their affairs in order. However, social distancing, and those most vulnerable having little contact with others as they self-isolate in their homes, has made it difficult for Wills to be properly witnessed and executed in person.  

In order to make the Will signing process easier in the current climate, the government have announced temporary and retrospective (for Wills created on 31 January 2020 onwards) laws to allow the witnessing of wills to be conducting via video conferencing, in a five-stage process as per Government Guidance which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-on-making-wills-using-video-conferencing#video-witnessing. 

As the new laws and rules surrounding the execution of Wills makes it easier to witness Wills, what are the risks behind this? 

There can already be concerns about whether the Testator is under duress, undue influence or coercion when making and signing the Will, given the vast and varied emotions that can be experienced by the Testator and their loved ones surrounding the topic of Wills. No doubt, not being physically present in a room whilst the Will is being executed is only going to increase this concern. Particularly given that we do not actually know who is present in the room whilst the Will is being signed by the Testator, even where say for example you had a camera providing a 360 degree view of the entire room. Even in such a circumstance we still would not ever really know who is behind the door, under the table or through the corridor! It is much easier for an individual to hide from a camera than it is the eyes of someone physically present in the room, that person who would be able to assess the surroundings and the body language of the Testator. These concerns surrounding the validity of a Will on the basis of fraud, coercion and undue influence are likely to increase the number of contentious probate cases we see in the future. 

Furthermore, once the Will has been signed by the Testator, the Will then needs to be given to the two witnesses for them to sign. This inevitably will increase the time is takes for a valid Will to be formed, particularly where the Will is being sent to the witnesses by post or even being collected and dropped to the witnesses for those who most vulnerable and those unable to travel. With this there come risks of the Will being lost or damaged in the post and even the risk that the Testator may pass away before the Will is signed by everyone, making it valid. 

Given the risks associated with witnessing Wills via video conferencing, this option should be used as a last resort. It is far better to have a professional facilitate the proper execution and production of a valid Will, and no doubt they will already have appropriate safe guarding measures/policies in place to protect Testators and safety measures with regards COVID-19.    

The legislation and any relevant guidelines will need to be clearly drafted to avoid any ambiguities and minimise the risk of a currently inevitable increase in contentious probate matters.

Our team have all the best policies and procedures in place to make sure a video-witnessed Wills are valid and completed efficiently. If you would like to discuss this with a member of the team then contact us today on 01753 486777 or jgani@astonbond.co.uk 

We share a glowing testimonial that our Head of Wills Jade Gani received from a client. This matter will be included in our upcoming Estate Planning Webinar.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Karan and Jade for all the support they have given me and my family over the last 3 years. They have worked seamlessly together to provide a package that covered all the financial and legal support we required in a very professional manner.

In 2017 my husband and I decided to invest his pension with a view to maximise the amount available to use and to minimise the amount of inheritance tax that would need to be paid. We were introduced to Karan and his company through my husband’s parents.  Karan provided us with several options to consider in a thorough and knowledgeable manner.  He also clearly explained the positive and negative aspects of each suggestion.  Alongside Karan, Jade helped us to update our Wills and set up financial and health LPA’s for both my husband and myself.

We had a significant change in circumstances in March 2020 when my husband died of pancreatic cancer.  Jade and Karan provided excellent support and advice about how to deal with the legal and financial aspects of the transfer of our existing investments to myself and our two sons.  The inheritance tax implications were also explained very clearly,  Jade also supported me with the legal aspects of my husband’s death such as Grant of Probate and the Land Registry.  Karan advised us on the best way to invest the Critical Illness insurance funds and the Death in Service payment and, again, provided a very comprehensive and flexible proposal which allows me to draw an income from the investments while still protecting our children’s inheritance.

I would highly recommend both Karan and Jade for the financial and legal advice they provided.”

Next week Aston Bond Law will partner with K C Wealth Management Senior Practice of St James’s Place Wealth Management to bring you a detailed examination of a case study that highlights the importance of timely Estate planning across both the legal and financial sectors.

Click here to find sign up to the event 

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA’s) allow you to appoint people you trust to act as your Attorneys so that they can assist you in managing your assets, and/or help with your health care decisions should you lose capacity. There are two types of LPA: one for Finance & Property; and one for Health & Welfare. 

However, many people incorrectly assume that if they are married or in a civil partnership that they will not require LPA’s as their spouse or civil partner will automatically have the right to deal with their assets and liabilities should they not be able to themselves.  Here we will explain why this is not always the case and highlight the limitations your partner may experience when there is no LPA in place.

Finances 

Nobody has authority to deal with your finances, such as your bank accounts, properties and pensions, other than you.  Therefore if you were to become unwell and need to go into hospital or care, your partner will not have the authority to automatically be able to help you manage your finances but instead may need to go down a long and lengthy process to obtain a court order.   As a separate court order is required for each action they wish to help you with, not having an LPA in place can therefore result in a time consuming and costly ordeal for those closest to you. 

Whilst this may be somewhat expected for sole assets, what many people do not realise is that losing capacity without having an LPA in place can also affect joint assets.  Although your partner may have authority to manage your accounts in which they are a joint account holder whilst you both have capacity, once a bank has been notified that you have lost capacity they may sometimes freeze the account until they are presented with an LPA on your behalf.

Health

It is also often mistakenly assumed that your partner will have the right to make health care decisions on your behalf as they are your next of kin.  However, whilst doctors are likely to consult with your next of kin, they do not have any authority or right to make health care decisions on your behalf and all decisions will therefore ultimately be at the discretion of your doctors.  Because of this, it can often be a very distressing experience for those closest to you where matters such as life sustaining treatment arise, as your next of kin may have differing opinions to that of the medical professional, but it is the opinion of the doctors that will override where there is no LPA in place.

If you would like more information on LPA’s please see our website via the following link: https://www.astonbond.co.uk/lpa-info/ .  Alternatively if you would like to book an appointment for a free initial consultation with one of our solicitors to discuss LPA’s further then please do not hesitate to contact 

Aston Bond Law are proud to partner with K C Wealth Management Senior Practice of St James’s Place Wealth Management to bring you a detailed examination of a case study that highlights the importance of timely Estate planning across both the legal and financial sectors.

Our Head of Private Client, Jade Gani, and Financial Planner at K C Wealth Management Senior Partner Practice of St. James’s Place Wealth Management, Karan Chandreja, have teamed up to provide an industry update and to demonstrate the power of appropriate referrals using a case study based on real life events. The webinar is suitable for professionals across the legal and finance sectors alike, as well as individuals who are (or should be) considering taking Estate planning steps. The Webinar will: identify the financial and legal landscape challenges we currently face; demonstrate what advisors should always keep in mind when taking new instructions; and highlight the most appropriate methods to signpost cross-sector referrals.

Webinar Details: 29 July 2020 at 11:30am via Zoom. Click here to book your place.

Webinar Agenda:-

1. Introductions to K C Wealth Management & Aston Bond;
2. Current Financial & Legal Landscape-Challenges Facing Families & Businesses;
3. Key Estate planning considerations with particular reference to Wills;
4. Holistic Financial Planning for Successful Retirement & Succession;
5. Tax planning solutions;
6. Questions and next steps.

Will writing involves the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place. Wills are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

If you would like to join the webinar please register your interest here:- Click here to register Details of how to join the webinar will be provided following registration.

When someone passes away it can be extremely overwhelming to know where to start when dealing with their affairs. After registering the death, a good place to start is to locate any important documents and notifying various agencies. 

Documents to Find:

As difficult as it might be, in order to start dealing with your loved ones affairs, someone will need to go through their personal papers to ascertain what assets and liabilities they had. If you are not up to doing this yourself, you could ask a family member, friend or even a solicitor to do it for you. 

You should keep an eye out for details of any of the following:-

• Banks & Building Societies
• Premium Bonds
• Investment Portfolios
• Original Marriage Certificates
• Passports & Driving Licenses
• Stocks & Shares (Original Certificates)
• PAYE or DWP information
• Evidence of any Trusts
• Original Wills & Codicils
• Gifts made in the past 7 years
• Car ownership documents
• Credit cards & reward cards
• Digital assets
• Security box information
• Utilities, bills & subscriptions
• Mortgages & Loans
• Pension & Life Policies
• Lasting Power of Attorneys
• Business assets & accounts
• Foreign assets (and Will)

You (or your solicitor) will need this information in order to close down and drawn in any accounts in the Estate. If you are unsure whether an asset is still valid then you should contact the provider to find out. It is especially important to ascertain the date of death value of the Estate if you are required to obtain the Grant of Probate.

Notifying People:

When you register the death, it is advisable to use the “Tell Us Once Service” as this notifies all government agencies of the death. You should also send a copy of the Death Certificate to any assets and liabilities you identified when you went through their personal papers, so that they may freeze accounts.

If you were acting under a Power of Attorney for the Deceased, then this has now come to an end and you should notify the Office of the Public Guardian about the death. You can call them on 0300 456 0300 or email them at: customerservices@publicguardian.gov.uk or write to them: PO Box 16185, Birmingham, B2 2WH

During your search through their papers, you may have found evidence of the Deceased’s assets and liabilities. You should notify all these organisation. Do not worry if you did not find any evidence though, as there are companies online who can help search for assets for a small fee. 

You will also need to notify anyone who is entitled to a share in the Estate. If there is a Will, this will be anyone named a beneficiary. If there is no Will, then the Intestacy Rules will apply. You can find out who is entitled to the Estate of someone under the Intestacy Rules here:- https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will 

If you found a copy of a Will, but not the original, it is possible that the company that made the Will are storing the original. You should contact the company named on the Will to see if they are holding anything. If it is a firm of solicitors, they will not be able to confirm any information to anyone other than the Executors named in the Will. They will also want to see a copy of the Death Certificate too. If you do have to contact a solicitor, many offer a free initial advice consultation, which you might like to take advantage of.

If you have any questions or would like assistance with any of the above, then please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated Wills & Probate team on 01753 486777 or jgani@astonbond.co.uk

Back again with another in the series talking about all things Wills. This time I discuss whether it would be easier and cheaper to simply use an online Will writing service, rather than an experienced professional, like a solicitor.

If you have prepared an online Will before, or are considering doing so, you should definitely have a listen to this video.

If you would like to book a free initial consultation to discuss your Wills with one of our specialist solicitors please call us on 01753 486 777.

Or, if you have any questions, or have a topic you would like me to cover in the series then send me an email at jgani@astonbond.co.uk.

    Jade Gani