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Making a Will

A Will only takes effect upon your death and determines who is responsible for administering your estate and who is to receive the money and assets that you have.

An LPA however, is only valid during your lifetime, meaning that upon your death the authority given to your Attorneys to deal with your assets ends. Upon your death it should be returned to the Office of the Public Guardian (‘OPG’) to be cancelled. In addition, whereas a Will directs your estate to certain people after your death (i.e. your beneficiaries), an LPA only grants your Attorneys the power to make decisions for you, in accordance with your best interests and with regard to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice. An LPA Attorney can only make gifts from your assets in limited circumstances.

Each person has their own Will, there is no such thing as a joint Will although the Wills may contain the same provisions.

The best way to leave your house to your children is with your Will. If you give the property to your children during your lifetime it can create numerous problems, one being a lifetime gift and tax implications, deliberate deprivation and capital gains. Leaving your house to your children in your Will avoids any tax implications and does not leave your occupation in the property vulnerable.

Depending on the type or how many changes you wish to make, you can give us a call and we can either make you a new Will or tweak the current Will to reflect your changes.

We often suggest reviewing or reading your Will every three years to ensure that the wishes are still the same. You should always update your Will if yours or a beneficiary’s circumstances change such as becoming disabled, winning the lottery, or a beneficiary dying before you.

At our firm, we keep the original Will in our fire safety strongroom and do not charge for this service.

Every clause in a Will is important. The residue gift is one of the most important gifts as this determines who ultimately benefits. If this is incorrectly drafted or worded wrong, it can cause significant problems and it could result in someone else benefiting.

During your lifetime you can make gifts and, if you make a gift which exceeds your annual allowances, the value of the gift can come back into your estate for tax purposes. You are allowed to gift £3,000 per year so if for example, Emily gifts £7,000 to Tim, if Emily dies within 3 years of that gift, the £4,000 will be included in Emily’s estate for tax purposes.

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