We offer legal expertise in drafting wills, probate and advising on inheritance tax and other tax issues.
We provide a full service for winding up estates and can advise on variation of Wills and how to mitigate inheritance tax and capital gains tax.
We prepare powers of attorney and applications for deputyship at the court of protection and deal with all kinds of applications to the Court of Protection.
The Importance of Instructing a True Expert
There are two main reasons for instructing a true expert when it comes to drafting a will or setting up a trust.
Planning ahead: A carefully considered and well-thought-out will or trust needs to look further ahead than many would think. Perhaps past the immediate beneficiaries, as the future can hold a number of possibilities and uncertainties. You need confidence in where and to whom your estate will pass.
Legacy: An important consideration that is often overlooked and underappreciated. What issues, charities, or cultural and artistic bodies interest you? A will or a trust is not simply about ‘who gets what’, but also how you would like to be remembered. You may wish your family and friends to remember you as having left money to a cause dear to your heart.
The best way to tackle such issues is in a face-to-face meeting. Our friendly solicitors will listen to your family background, your concerns, and what has been of importance to you during your life. This very important meeting is included in our fixed fee quotations.
Protect Your Legacy
Whatever the size of the estate and the particular circumstances, we offer a top quality legal service at a reasonable price, helping you minimise Inheritance tax and, if required, set up a trust(s) for beneficiaries. If your estate requires the setting up of a trust(s), our experts will guide you through the process to ensure your wishes are followed exactly. Don´t leave it too late, as this is a complex area of law and taxation which requires expert consideration to ensure your loved ones are taken care of.
Our team, experts in trust law, will work with our divorce solicitors to protect your trust interests following a divorce, when the financial settlement is agreed.
Why Choose Our Wills, Trusts & Probate Solicitors?
- Your Estate Goes to the Beneficiaries You Choose
- Inheritance Tax is Minimised
- Your Will is Ideally Tailored to Your Circumstances and Needs
We advise clients on the making of gifts of their homes or other property and the tax consequences thereof.
Regardless of your age, today is the right day to plan ahead for your future so you can stay in control of your life, protect loved ones and make the unhappy times as bearable as possible.
When you think of the future you may focus on the happy times you and your family will probably share over the coming years or on all the joyous events that hopefully lie ahead. However, in order to protect yourself and loved ones, now and in the future, you need to think about life’s sad times too and start planning for them.
Of course, no one likes to think about times of great sadness and emotional difficulty, but by taking action now you can save yourself a great deal of suffering at a later date.
Our specialist wills and probate solicitors understand that planning for the future can be uncomfortable and stressful for individuals, and work with clients in a caring, sensitive and personal way.
How Our Solicitors Can Help You
Wills and probate is a complicated area of law, and despite the superficial attractions of do-it-yourself wills, the services of a specialist wills and probate solicitor are critical in ensuring that a deceased person’s wishes are followed.
Bartletts Solicitors can help you draft your will and can store it safely on your behalf. We also offer a full probate service, to allow you to quickly apply for and obtain a Grant of Probate, enabling you to manage and distribute the estate of the deceased.
Regrettably but inevitably, we also provide a disputed wills and contested probate service. These bitter family arguments typically arise out of poorly thought-out wills and trusts. Avoid potential family fallouts with our premium legal service covering contested probate work and disputes over wills and inheritances.
To fit around your busy life all work can be carried out online, by post and by telephone. However, we would be happy to make you an appointment if you would prefer to see an expert face to face.
Updating or Changing a Will
Updating a will to reflect a person’s current circumstances is naturally important and needs to be done formally, rather than by simply altering the wording of an existing signed and witnessed will, which would invalidate it. There are two methods of doing so – either by drafting a codicil, a legal document that makes alterations and serves as a supplement to an existing will, or by writing an entirely new will to replace the old one.
Changes to a will reflect changes to a person’s life, such as a marriage/civil partnership, divorce/separation, the birth of a child (who does not automatically become a beneficiary) or a change in financial circumstances, for example, when an individual sells a property or receives an inheritance. It may also be the case that a beneficiary to an existing will has died, or that the testator simply wishes to change how their estate is distributed following their death.
Major events can also affect the validity of an existing will. A marriage or entry into a civil partnership, for example, means that a previous will is automatically invalidated, while if a person divorces or dissolves a civil partnership and the former spouse or civil partner is the sole beneficiary, the deceased will be held to have died intestate (without a valid will). Various other complexities regarding the rights of former partners highlight the need to update a will as soon as possible following a separation.
Generally speaking, simple changes to a will, such as appointing a new executor to redirecting a bequest to a different beneficiary, can be made via a codicil, while more significant changes, such as those outlined above, will require the writing of a new will to replace the old one. Codicils are the cheaper alternative but can add to the complexity of administering an estate in the future (particularly if there is more than one codicil), as all the documents will need to be evaluated together, which may result in the deceased’s wishes being misinterpreted.
Drafting a new will can avoid any confusion as to the intentions of the deceased, as well as the possibility of a codicil being lost for whatever reason. When a new will is written, all copies of old wills and codicils should be destroyed, and the new will should clearly state that it revokes (cancels) any such previous documents. If an estate requires a Grant of Probate, both a will and any alterations made by a codicil will be publicly visible, and a further reason for writing a new will is to prevent disclosure of such changes.
Setting Up a Trust
A trust fund is a legal instrument which provides a flexible way of protecting and managing an individual’s assets, while ensuring the financial stability of family members and loved ones in the future.
A trust may be created during an individual’s lifetime or be written into a will to take effect on their passing. It may include all types of assets including cash, shares and property, which will be managed by one or more trustees in the interest of the beneficiaries.
One of the great benefits of trusts is their versatility. There are various different types of trust which can serve many different purposes according to the wishes of the ‘settlor’ and the needs of the beneficiaries. The most common are bare trusts, discretionary trusts and life interest trusts.
Trusts are usually created to make sure that an individual’s capital and the income deriving from it are protected for future generations. A trust can be used to distribute capital to beneficiaries at a certain point in the future, or to allocate the income derived from it while preserving the capital. A trust can therefore provide security against beneficiaries squandering both capital and income.
Specialist legal advice is essential for three main reasons: determining whether setting up a trust is suitable for an individual, identifying which type of trust is the most appropriate given their circumstances, and ensuring that the trust is set up in the most tax-efficient way.
Extensive Wills and Probate Services
We can help you with all matters relating to wills, probate and future planning, including:
- Will making
- Probate
- Long-term care planning
- Estate administration
- Equity release and transfer
- Asset protection
- Court of Protection applications
- Power of Attorney
- Inheritance tax planning
- Intestacy law
- Disputes over wills and inheritance
How Our Wills & Probate Solicitors Can Help
Making a will not only enables you to manage your estate and assets but, in the process, to also look after loved ones when you’ve gone, protect certain assets from being used for any long-term care needs you may have in the future, and to ensure any inheritance is handled tax efficiently.
We’re here to help you plan for your future in the best possible way. By understanding the details of your situation as well as your wishes for both the long- and short-term, we will provide you with professional, personal and individual advice and guidance as you decide how you’d like to live in old age, how you’d like to provide for loved ones, and where you want your money to go.
Our wills and probate solicitors are here to assist you so you can make plans today for tomorrow – and stay in control of your life.
Make an enquiry today
If you’d like to discuss or make a will, or find out more about our probate services, please contact our wills and probate team at Bartletts Solicitors at our Liverpool, Chester or Wrexham offices or email newenquiry@bartletts.co.uk
Alternatively, you can Make An Online Enquiry and one of our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
