Wills

Why make a Will?

You need a Will to ensure that all your money, property and other assets are given in accordance with your wishes on your death, If you do not make a Will, the law decides who will receive all your assets in accordance with strict rules. The rules may well not coincide with your own wishes. Making a Will allows you to make financial provision for your partner and your family. If you wish to leave certain items or sums of money to friends, relatives or charities then you can say so in your Will.

Children

If you have young children you should appoint guardians to look after them in the event of your death. An appointment in your Will can save family disputes and ensure your wishes are carried out. You may also want to provide for money to be invested until a child reaches 18 or some greater age. We will advise you how best to provide for this in your Will. We can help you to appoint suitable Trustees and if required, provide the Trustees with investment advice.

Inheritance tax

You do not have to be wealthy to need a Will. With life insurance policies, property values, and some employment benefits, the value of your Estate may add up to quite a considerable sum. We can provide you with full tax advice and explain the effect of inheritance tax on your Estate. We can explain how insurance policies or trusts could help save tax and ensure that your assets are maintained for your family. Our tax planning service can provide detailed advice in the case of more complicated estates.

Executors

You will need to decide who you wish to deal with your Estate and ensure that your wishes, as expressed in your Will, are carried out. We can provide advice to help you with your decision. If you wish, a partner in this firm will act as your Executor. We have many years experience in dealing with estates and we are pleased to offer this service to our clients and their families.

Last wishes

If you wish to give your executor instructions about your funeral or donations to medicine we will prepare the necessary requests.

The cost

Making a Will does not need to be expensive. For straightforward Wills we offer a fixed price service. For more complicated Wills we will provide you with full details in advance of how we will charge and give you an estimate of the cost. Our aim is to provide a confidential personal service at a reasonable cost. Please ask us - we will be pleased to help.

Enduring Power of Attorney

Just as important as making a Will is to ensure that if you are incapacitated through accident or ill-health, someone is able to look after your financial affairs, including paying bills on your behalf. We can prepare, at a time when you are able to give the matter your full consideration, an Enduring Power of Attorney, appointing a suitable person to manage your affairs when you no longer feel able to do so. Once the document has been completed and signed, it can be kept in our strongroom and like an insurance policy it need not be used unless and until it is needed. If it is required, then the named person will be able to deal with matters on your behalf without the intervention of the Court of Protection or any other party.ew