Probate & Wills

What is a Will?

A Will is a vital and very important document which operates to dispose of most types of property or assets owned by an individual after his death. 

Why make a Will?

(a)  It avoids uncertainty as to whether of not one has left a Will which can save much unnecessary time spent by the surviving relatives in searching amongst the papers of the deceased person or of Solicitors or Will Writers in the locality or localities where one has resided.

(b)  One can choose one’s Executors namely one or more persons whom one can trust to carry out one’s wishes as contained in one’s Will after one’s death- maybe one’s spouse and/or close relatives, friends or professionals

(c)  One can control the destiny of one’s assets

(d)  One can make provision for the objects of one’s affection such as immediate family and dependants friends and acquaintances and one’s favourite charities

(e)  One can stipulate what part of one’s estate should bear the burden of any Tax liability that may be applicable to one’s estate such as Inheritance Tax

What about if somebody dies without a Will?   

When a person dies without leaving a will, apart from property in joint names with their spouse or other individuals which may pass by survivorship to the surviving joint owners – unless the parties own the property as tenants in common – their assets must be disposed of according to the intestacy rules.

Under the UK law, only married couples and civil partners and surviving children whom failing certain other close relatives are entitled to inherit the property under this rule. Some cases may be straightforwardly simple, whilst others may be very complex. You may often see some devastating stories in the media. Failing to make a Will can put one’s loved ones especially unmarried Partners in a very difficult and vulnerable situation after one’s death, particularly at such an emotionally distressing time for them.

Sometimes, even if there is a Will, there may be a partial Intestacy in relation to property which has not been disposed of in the Will which stresses the importance of making a valid will covering all their assets. 

Important Ingredients of a Will – some optional some mandatory

Appointment of Executors  

Expression of wishes regarding burial or cremation and whether one wants a Funeral

Specific Gifts (Legacies) of Personal effects

Gifts of money (Legacies) to individuals or charities

Appointment of Guardians for one’s minor Children in case they should be orphaned by the loss of both parents

Bequest of One’s Residence

Clarity in the Will as to whether or not the Legacies should be subject to or free from Inheritance Tax and from what part of the Estate any debts funeral expenses the legal costs of administering one’s estate and any Inheritance Tax liability should be paid. 

Power of Attorney

As a very general rule there are two different types of Powers. These are:

• a General Power of Attorney; and
• a Lasting Power of Attorney

 What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney is a document whereby a person (the “Donor”) gives to another person(s) (the “Attorney(s)”) the power to act on his/her behalf in respect of his/her affairs. 

• • A General Power of Attorney (GPA) provides a quite straightforward authorisation for any general purposes or a specific event for a limited period of time. It can be used to deal with your financial affairs. 
  • a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) confers the Donor’s authorisation for the Attorney to cover the contingency of the Donor being incapable of making a decision. The formality and procedure are quite different from of those required for a GPA which is automatically revoked if the Donor becomes mentally incapable.
  • There are two types of LPA. The first one relates to one’s Property & Financial Affairs and the second one to one’s Health & Welfare which empowers the Attorneys to make decisions regarding one’s general personal welfare inckuding (if the Donor so elects in the LPA) decisions regarding life-sustaining treatment for the Donor.

When the Donor of an LPA whilst still retaining his mental capacity is suddenly unable to make certain decisions, for example, being ill in hospital or experiencing an unforeseen accident, an LPA will be a safeguard mechanism to rescue the situation for those concerned. It gives everybody including the rest of the Donor’s family members peace of mind that the matters are well looked after at the time that he/she is unable to make decisions.

Do I need a Power of Attorney?

You might need a GPA in order to authorise some of your family members to do something on your behalf, for instance when you are away from your home or workplace. Compared to that an LPA  will be useful when you are incapable of dealing with very important personal matters such as mortgage, business interests, etc. due to serious illness or mental incapacity.

How much does it cost?

For a GPA the price is from £125.00 depending on the matter. For an LPA the cost is £350.00 for a single LPA or £500.00 for a pair of LPA’s. In either case, we will arrange an appointment with a legal specialist to take the instructions from you. 

A draft will be provided to you and further consultation will be carried out to make sure that the draft fully reflects your wishes.

Finally, we’ll arrange the registration of your LPA{s) with the Office of the Public Guardian for which there is a Registration fee of £82 for each LPA.

Modes of Name Change

In theory one can change one’s name simply by usage of a different name over a period of time.  However the problem arises when one is asked to prove one’s name in the absence of anything in writing. It therefore becomes essential to have a written or printed document to evidence one’s current adopted or changed name to produce to one’s Bank, Financial institutions in which one might hold shares Government Agencies Pension Providers utilities and any other official bodies. The document evidencing one’s change of name is commonly called a Deed Poll  (or Deed of Change of Name). In this document one declares to everyone that as from the date of signing the Deed one is abandoning one’s previous name or combination of names by which one has been previously known and one is adopting a new name by which one wishes to be known for all purposes and by which one requests all persons corporate bodies or institutions to address one in the future. In theory (although not normally) one can also include as part of one’s name titles such as Mr, Ms, Dr etc but shoud not imply a status or honour that one does not have e.g Lord or Professor!

Some Reasons for Name Change

1.  To fulfil a wish to make a clean break and start a brand new chapter in one’s life. 

2.  To change one’s name to that of one’s unmarried Partner

3.  To  revert to one’s maiden name in the event of a marriage breakdown

4,   To change one’s child’s name to match the name of his parent who has parental responsibilty for him such as where he was registered with a different name at birth or where he is brought up by a stepfather with a different surname and is thus able to share the same surname as his step-siblings with a view to feeling a sense of belonging to his new family.

Types of written or printed  Name Change

1. Enrolled Deed Poll registered in the Royal Courts of Justice – which means one is putting one’s name on Public Record but lasts only 5 years although renewable.

2. Unenrolled Deed Poll which once signed lasts without time limit or until another Deed Poll is signed.

Legal Efficacy of Deed Polls

There is no legal requirement to enrol a Deed Poll in the Royal Courts of Justice.

All UK Organistions including HM Passport Office  DVLA and all Government Organisations recgnise Unenrolled Deed Polls.

Time Scales

1. Enrolled Deed Polls can take 6 to 8 weeks to complete

2. Unenrolled Deed Polls can be completed in a few minutes

Costs

The basic charge for preparing a single Unenrolled Deed Poll is £125 +VAT.

There are concessionary charges for preparing multiple Unenrolled Deed Polls e.g. for several members of the same family

Please call us (9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday) or send an e-mail.