Wills & Lasting Powers of Attorney

Wills & Lasting Powers of Attorney

If you were to die without having made a Will, the surviving spouse will not automatically inherit the estate but only a part of it, even if you were married with children. Furthermore, without taking court action, common law partners would get nothing.

There are so many other factors to be considered even if you do have a Will in place. Is it up to date? Has it been invalidated by marriage? If you have children, have you appointed guardians? If the executors are a bank or solicitor, they take part of the estate – is this what you really want?

We write your wills, powers of attorney trust etc. via our sister company Westside Wills and Estate Planning Limited. They are qualified via the Society of Will Writers to advise and plan with you.

Getting the right balance

It is crucial to find out now if you potentially have an Inheritance Tax liability – or could do so in future years. Historically, Inheritance Tax planning used to be an activity confined to the very rich. However, growing affluence means that this is no longer the case. Even families and individuals with a relatively moderate level of wealth should consider planning ahead to ensure that their assets are passed on to their loved ones as efficiently as possible. Property price increases have also dragged many middle-class working families into the Inheritance Tax bracket.

Effective estate planning is about getting the right balance between maintaining access to your money when you need it and saving tax. This is because, in general, the more tax-efficient a solution is, the less access you have to your assets. Safeguarding your own financial future is very important and giving too much away could put this at risk.

Contact matt@wwaep.com for more info

Estate planning, trust planning, tax planning and Will writing is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.