It is never a comfortable experience planning what will happen after your passing, but we have a dedicated team of lawyers who will guide you through the process and make it as effortless as possible. MKB Law’s Private Client team has experience in all aspects of wills, estates, probates, trusts and inheritance tax.
Our team will take a detailed account of everything you own that could be left to others. We will help you identify beneficiaries and how you can provide for them. We can also advise what to do with any surplus capital whether it be used as a gift or donated to charity.
An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) allows the maker to appoint someone to look after their financial affairs in the event that they become incapable of doing so. We can work with you and your professional advisers to ensure your later years are comfortable and secure.
At MKB Law, we have a wealth of experience in the administration of estates and are sensitive to the emotional and financial challenges that a bereaved family faces. We therefore attempt to make the administration process as straightforward as possible.
Why should I make a Will?
There are a number reasons for you to make a Will and we would advise that you make one as soon as you can. If you die without a Will the rules of intestacy will be applied to your estate and your assets will be divided for you. By making a will your estate can be left to whom you wish, you can decide who will carry out your wishes, you can make decisions regarding who will look after children, and you can outline your wishes regarding funeral arrangements.
Despite the stigma around making Wills this can an gratifying experience in which you decide your legacy and think about how you can provide for your family.
It is always advisable that you nominate a enduring power of attorney. This person will be selected to look after your affairs and make decisions on your estate after you have passed on. There are certain provisions that our solicitors can help you with such as inheritance tax, protecting family wealth and protecting individual assets.
Should I make a will after divorce?
Making a will after divorce or separation is especially important. No matter how long you have been apart, your spouse remains your next-of-kin until the Decree Absolute is issued, and, in the event of your death, they will be entitled to the majority, if not all, of your estate.
Even after the marriage has officially ended, a will is important to ensure your children are adequately provided for after your death. Most importantly of all, a will allows you to name guardians for your children if they are under 18. Our Wills Department has a wealth of experience in all aspects of will drafting, particularly following marriage breakdown.
How often should I update my Will?
As a general rule, you should revisit and review your Will every five years. Substantial changes may have taken place in your life that require alterations to your Will, for example, if you have married or divorced since you last made a Will or if your family has grown to include children or grandchildren. If your wealth has grown, you could now be liable for inheritance tax.
Similarly, if your home has increased in value, this will also factor into your liability for tax. We can offer clarity and peace of mind to ensure that your estate is inherited in line with your wishes. Changes to legislation can also have an effect on your Will.
What are Trusts?
Although trusts are seen as a wide and complicated subject, at their basic level they are very simple. If you’ve ever said to someone “Here’s £5, give it to so-and-so”, you’ve created a trust! A trust is simply a situation where the holder of something is not entitled to the benefit of it.
Trusts are useful tools, both in terms of tax-planning and allowing you, as the person establishing the trust, to retain control over an asset while removing it from your estate. There are many different types of trusts, and they have their own tax regime. It is important to understand not only why a trust is being established but also the ramifications of doing so. Our specialised team at MKB Law can advise you on all kinds of trusts, from trusts for minor children to disabled persons’ trusts.
What happens to an Estate after someone passes away?
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is a traumatic experience and the grieving process is stressful enough without the added worry of dealing with banks, insurance companies and pension providers.
Some people believe that the process of administering an estate is a relatively simple one, with the appointed family member or friend merely collecting the assets and distributing these in line with the Will of the deceased. In reality, this process can be far from straightforward.
Before institutions release funds they require a court to issue a Grant of Probate. This requires the executor of your Will to send the document to the Probate Registry accompanied by an affidavit stating who they are and what the estate is valued at. Accurately completing these legal stages, along with the process of distributing the assets, can be challenging for those at such a difficult time.
At MKB Law we have a wealth of experience in this area and are sensitive to the challenges that a bereaved family faces.
What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?
No-one likes to think of a time when they will be incapable of dealing with their own affairs. However, with an aging population and a growing instance of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, it has become a consideration for more and more people. Care home fees are a worry for many and in today’s financial climate it is likely that the health trusts will become increasingly diligent in ensuring that their patients are paying their fair share. Legislation allows the Trusts to ignore or even undo transactions that have been done solely to avoid care home fees.
An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) allows the maker (known as “the Donor”) to appoint someone to look after their financial affairs in the event that they become incapable of doing so.
If the Attorney who has been appointed believes the Donor has become incapable, he or she is under a duty to apply to the court for the EPOA to be registered. This application will involve notifying the Donor and his or her next-of-kin, in the form prescribed by the legislation, of the intention to have the EPOA registered, and inviting objections. If there are no objections, the EPOA will be registered by the court and the Attorney can deal directly with banks and other financial institutions on the Donor’s behalf. If there are objections there will normally be a court case to settle the matter.
What is Controllership?
If someone who does not have an Enduring Power of Attorney in place becomes incapable of dealing with their affairs, it is necessary for the next-of-kin to make an application to the court for a Controllership. This involves obtaining medical evidence of the person’s mental health, filling out a complicated form showing the person’s assets, obtaining character references for the proposed Controller and setting out proposals for the future care of the patient. The next-of-kin of the patient are then notified of the application and objections are invited.
In the case of a Controllership, the court will understandably take a more active role in overseeing and monitoring the financial affairs going forward. After all, the patient did not actively seek to appoint the Controller when capable of doing so. Once appointed, the Controller is expected to account for the court once a year for all the income and expenditure on behalf of the patient. The court also expects Controllers to take security out to cover the assets the controller holds. If the Controller wishes to take any steps out of the ordinary course of his or her duties (for example, selling or renting the patient’s property) an application must be made to court to allow this. There is a yearly fee payable and a fee for each and every application that is made.
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Mr S and Family
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