Author Archives: Helen Eynon

Wills – Are you on holiday soon?

Yes, the school holidays are around the corner. As the UK Summer looks like it will be a wash out, many of you will be opting for holidays with guaranteed sunshine. Many of you would have booked up months ago. Before you know it you will be on that flight, bucket and spade in hand.

BUT although you have made all the arrangements – what if something happens on holiday…. It’s likely whilst you have worries about missing the flight, are fairly sure the hotel will be nice, have checked that the travel insurance is in place and have your usual worry whether the kids will behave this time.

It’s likely that you and your partner DON’T have Wills, and have no idea what would happen to your assets if the worse were to happen.
So instead of not knowing, why don’t you put Wills in place (not just for your holiday but to cover you for a lot longer). If you want to have an informal discussion about sorting your Wills out, give me a call.

Wills-etc Quiz

Annoucing the Wills-etc Quiz!!!
Wills can be a boring subject, so how about trying to answer the Wills-etc Quiz. Hopefully you will know the answer to each question. If you don’t please contact me to discuss what is the right answer, and what will be the right answer for you and your family.

1. Common Law Marriage exists. TRUE/FALSE
2. A Will has to be in writing. TRUE /FALSE
3. Verbal Wills are valid. TRUE/FALSE
4. I have just got married and my Will is still valid. TRUE/FALSE
5. A Will covers all property, all over the world. TRUE/FALSE
6. Unmarried couples who don’t make a Will have legal protection. TRUE/FALSE
7. Unmarried couples who do make a Will have legal protection. TRUE/FALSE
8. Married couple’s property always passes to the spouse. TRUE/FALSE
9. Unmarried couples’ property always passes to the partner. TRUE/FALSE
10. Tax is payable on death when estate passes to the spouse/civil partner. TRUE/FALSE
11. Tax is payable on death when estate passes to the partner of an unmarried couple. TRUE/FALSE
12. Tax is payable on death when estate goes to children. TRUE/FALSE
13. What level is inheritance tax charged at?
14. My house is not in my name so no tax will be chargeable on it. TRUE/FALSE
15. How many people die in England and Wales without a valid Will in force?

A WILL CAN OVERRIDE (nearly) EVERYTHING!! If on doing the quiz you now have a question, please give me a call on 01483 564833.

Buying a House with a friend – what could be simpler!

Finally, you have come up with a way to buy a house! After much thought you have decided to buy with a friend, the loan is agreed, and you’ve found the property.

So everything is great, why should you worry?

When buying with the friend it is essential that you not only make a Will, but also that you come to a formal legal agreement to allow for the following:
• Exactly what shares you each have in the property (as it is likely that the amounts you each put in may be different).
• How any profits would be divided on any future sale.
• Allow for a formula to buy each other out, should one of you want out.
• Decide how the bills etc are to be split.
• What will happen on the death of one of you.
• If funds are coming from various sources, how these are to be paid back.

These are just some of the things that MUST go into a formal declaration which should be signed by all the buyers. Such agreements will prevent lengthy (and costs) legal arguments later!

So if you are about to buy with a friend, or you are a parent helping a child buy. Give me a call.

The Bank of Mum & Dad

Giving away assets – is that a good idea?

Many clients are worried that their children will never be able to afford a house. The answer many come up with is that they become the bank of Mum & Dad. Whilst you may be able to afford to help your children, there are various issues that have to be considered before the money changes hands!

• Making a gift can have an impact on your Capital Gains Tax position (often termed as gift tax!)
• A large gift could be a Potentially Exempt Transfer for Inheritance Tax!
• In some cases the gift could even be subject to Income Tax (under the Pre-owned Asset Regime).
• The tax position will be different depending on the assets you are going to give away.

Please be aware that cash will be treated differently from physical assets.

And these are just the potential taxation issues that must be considered!

Making a gift is different from making a loan to a child, which will have impacts on not only your personal tax position. But will have a direct impact on your Will provision. If the money you are making available to a child is to be a loan and NOT a gift the rules again will be different.

So if you are seriously thinking of being the Bank of Mum and Dad, call me first to ensure that your gift does not have any unforeseen complications.

Spring Time Means – Will Review Time!!

As I have often said to clients, everyone should always keep reviewing their Will provision.

It is essential that any changes in your situation should alert you to double check your Will, there are many reasons why you should keep reviewing matters:

• Someone in the family has died.
• The Will is out of date.
• You are now in a different relationship.
• You are going through a divorce.
• Post divorce your financial position has changed.
• The appointed Executors no longer want to act.
• Your children are older.
• The Guardianship appointment needs changing.
• You have inherited assets.
• Your relative wealth has increased/decreased.
• Your spouse or partner has died.
• You have just or you are about to re-marry.
• Things have changed.

These are just some of the many reasons why you should review your Will! As we come into the spring, I am offering a free review service. So if you think that your Will might need to be altered……….. but you are not too sure?! Just contact me for a no obligation discussion.

Calling All Business Clients

Whilst it is important for everyone to make a Will, for business people it is essential!
When taking instructions from you I am in a position to review your business and the family dynamic. This allows me to not just put in place appropriate Business Wills, but also to do Succession Planning for your business.

If you have worked for years to build up your business there is no way that you want any of the following to happen:

• Problems on retirement.
• Issues about treating family equally and fairly when one child is in the business and your other children are not.
• People leaving the business.
• Losing control of company shares.
• Unsuitable people becoming involved in the business on the death of a director/shareholder/partner.
• Inheritance tax being chargeable resulting in the business having to be sold!

In most cases all these issues can be resolved, with solutions that can be put in place well ahead of time. You can ensure that:

• Plans are in place if you want to take a back seat.
• Shares can only be sold within the business.
• Provisions are in place for your death and the death of directors/shareholders/partners.
• Only designated people can continue to work in the business.
• Inheritance Tax can be mitigated (Business Property Relief can be 100% in some cases).

If you own a business of any type, please contact me for an informal no obligation discussion.

I can get a Will for free so why use an expert?

This is what a prospective client recently said to me. I had spoken to her on the phone and sent her more information. Having heard nothing further I called her. The prospective client confirmed to me that her husband had found out that they could get a “Free Will Service” from their bank.

Whilst I always say that putting in place “something is better than nothing” I did wander what would this couple get!? Remembering that nothing is for free in life I pondered the following issues:
• How were instructions to be taken for the Wills and would that person have sufficient understanding of the issues that should be covered?
• Would the couple be just filling in a form?
• How were the Wills going to be drafted?
• Was a computer programme with set precedents going to be used? So in effect the documents would be a “cut and paste” job done by an unqualified clerk.
• Would a legally qualified person be involved at any stage?

I am also worried about the hidden costs of the Wills:
• Would the bank make itself an Executor in the Wills?
• If the bank appointed itself as an Executor what would it charge for the administration?
• Typically banks charge 4-5% of the value of an Estate, which is higher than virtually any other provider of legal services.
• Would the proposed costs be transparent?
• Most banks draft Wills in such a way to allow for the charges to be in accordance with their terms of business (which of course change), this means it’s impossible to know what you are signing up to!

In short no Bank or other organisation offering “Free Wills” can be offering something for nothing!!

Don’t be Scammed – do a Will with the right person!

On the BBC TV programme “You’ve Been Scammed” recently it was highlighted what can go wrong even if a Will is in place. The BBC highlighted the case of a now defunct company who had in effect done the following:

• Offered very cheap Will Writing services.
• Offered to store the documents for clients.
• Offered to take the responsibility away from family and friends of being Executors.

The company on the death of Testators walked away with the money!! Please note that the all the people in the company ended up in the Criminal Courts, and some but not all of the money was recovered!

So what went wrong? These people were evidently crooks, but how do you do a Will and ensure nothing goes wrong?

1. If the amount being charged for a Will is very low. The person/company is either going to “sell” you more products, or make back its’ money another way. Basically if the offer is too good to be true – it is!
2. If a company is going to store documents for you. You need to know where they are being stored, and how easy they are to retrieve. If there is a cost involved in storage how much is it, and is there an annual charge?
3. Offering to be the Executors is NOT a good idea! Any company who acts as an Executor will be allowed to charge for their services. You should have full information as to the likely charges before having a company as the Executor. Remember if you appoint friends or family they can decide if they need assistance to deal with your Estate at that time.

To avoid any problems only use a company or person who is a member of a professional body: The Society of Will Writers or the Institute of Professional Will Writers. To check this all you need do is log onto the website of the relevant body and look up the person/company. All such people will abide by their Society’s Code of Conduct and have full indemnity insurance.

Remember there are some very good professional Will Writers out there! So do your home work, you would check out a builder so always check out the person or company who is going to do your Will!