Wills, Probate and Lasting Powers of Attorney

The broad aim of lifetime planning is to organise your assets during your lifetime in such a way as to minimise the future IHT charge on death. This may be achieved in a number of different ways, such as investing in tax-efficient assets and seeking to obtain and enhance IHT exemptions and reliefs.

It is crucial to get your priorities right. Before embarking on any lifetime planning it is essential to have regard to your own needs and financial security. Tax savings should never be at the expense of the well-being of you and your family.

Lifetime IHT planning can also involve making or reviewing a Will. Where the planning involves a combination of lifetime gifts and structuring a Will, the two aspects should not be considered in isolation. It is essential to have regard to the terms of a Will if lifetime gifts are contemplated and vice versa. Even if you do not pursue any lifetime giving, you should at least consider making a Will and reviewing it regularly because the most appropriate form of lifetime planning will vary over the course of your life.

Essential reasons to make a Will

• ensure your assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes rather than the intestacy rules which could mean, for instance, your spouse/civil partner only inheriting a certain portion of your estate
• nominate executors of your choice to deal with the distribution of your estate in the certain knowledge that they will comply with your wishes
• to nominate your preferred guardians of your children to avoid disagreements or family upsets
• make small personal gifts
• to give you the opportunity to take advantage of tax saving strategies and exemptions and not expose your estate to unnecessary taxation

As a business owner, it’s important to consider what would happen to your business if you were suddenly unable to make decisions or sign paperwork. This might be something as simple as:

• you were abroad on holiday or for business and couldn’t get home
• you were to have an accident
• you developed a medical condition that incapacitated you

How do I protect my business?

The simplest way is by making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). The LPA is a legal document which authorises a chosen person to make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so.

We can help you make a decision as to whether a Business LPA is right for you depending on whether you are a sole trader or a partner with a partnership agreement (if you don’t have a partnership agreement, we can help you with that too!).

Now you can put a price on peace of mind!

Individual personal LPA’s

– Health and Welfare LPA               £449.00 + VAT
– Property and Finance LPA            £449.00 + VAT

We can prepare:

• A Health and Welfare LPA AND a Property and Finance LPA for a discounted rate  £549.00 + VAT
• Prepare 4x LPA’s for married couples for a discounted rate                                          £749.00 + VAT

Business LPA

Business LPA  £449.00 + VAT

We can prepare all 3 LPA’s for a discounted rate of £849.00 + VAT and for partners and spouses £999.00 + VAT.

Now you can put a price on peace of mind!