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Wills

Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father of the United States, wrote, “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes”. Whilst we may all acknowledge the truth in this, for many of us, death or the prospect of death, is something we would rather not think about. It is therefore not surprising to find that over half of the adult population in England and Wales do not have a Will in place.

Here at Dodds we have an experienced team of Wills and Probate Solicitors who will be happy to guide you through the various options – looking at potential Inheritance Tax issues or possible claims against your estate and provide you with all the advice you need to make informed choices. We aim to make the process as straightforward as possible – and many of our clients say afterwards that making a Will was much easier than they expected!

What is a Will and why should I make one?

A will is simply a written document which sets out how a person’s ‘estate’ will be distributed when they die. For the Will to be valid there are certain legal formalities which must be complied with when the Will is signed.

If you die without having a valid Will in place then the ‘Intestacy Rules’ will apply. These set out both the order in which your relatives will inherit and, in some cases, the amount they will receive. The rules are rigid and may lead to an outcome that you would not choose.

By contrast a Will is a very flexible document which can be tailored to suit your unique circumstances.

When making a Will you get to decide:

• Who will act as your Executors – this will usually be one or more of your beneficiaries or you can choose to appoint professional executors;
• Who you will appoint as Guardians if you have children under the age of 18;
• Whether to include legacies, for example, cash gifts to grandchildren or charities;
• Whether to include any specific gifts of property such as jewellery or a house;
• Your funeral wishes;
• Who will inherit your remaining or ‘residuary’ estate and in what shares.

Property which doesn’t pass under your Will

Not all property passes under your Will:

• A house or land which is owned by more than one person as ‘joint tenants’ (for example, a married couple). When the first of the two joint owners dies, the property passes to the surviving joint owner by ‘survivorship’. As the survivor then owns the property outright it forms part of their estate and passes under their Will on death;
• Monies in joint bank accounts – this passes by survivorship to the joint account holder;
• Pensions – most pensions allow for you to ‘nominate’ where your pension will go if you die before receiving it. This means that quite sizeable sums can pass outside your Will
• Life insurance policies – many of these have a named beneficiary so do not pass under your Will.

Only property which passes under your Will or the Intestacy Rules attracts Inheritance Tax. As part of the Will preparation process we will discuss your assets in detail with you – including those above.

Different types of Wills

Although all Wills are different to reflect individual circumstances, they tend to fall into certain types which vary in their complexity.

Our aim is to ensure that the Will we prepare for you is the one most suited to your financial and family situation.

The majority of our clients find that a simple Will is suitable for their circumstances. This type of Will could include, for example, specific gifts of personal possessions, simple gifts of cash, funeral wishes, the appointment of guardians and then the final distribution of the ‘residue’ to your chosen beneficiaries.

Our fees for the preparation of simple Wills are:

This type of Will can be particularly beneficial for a couple who own a property and have concerns about the possible future payment of care fees.

It is best explained by giving an example of how a pair of Property Trust Wills can work:

Example 1:

Mr and Mrs Smith own their property as ‘joint tenants’. Its value is £350,000. In addition, they have savings of £50,000 in a joint bank account.

They have prepared ‘Simple Wills’ which leave everything to each other and then equally to their two children, Jack and Jill.

Sadly, Mrs Smith dies. As the house and bank account are in ‘joint names’ both pass automatically to Mr Smith.  A few months later Mr Smith finds that he can no longer live independently and has to move into a care home.

The Local Authority carry out a financial assessment and, as his assets have a total value of £400,000, he is required to pay his care home fees in full. The Care Home fees are £1,100 per week so his savings go down quite rapidly. After 6 months he decides to sell the house. He receives the whole of the proceeds of sale so continues to pay his care fees in full until only £23,250 remains. At this point he no longer pays his fees in full but still has to make a contribution towards them. When his savings have diminished to £14,250 his contributions stop and the Local Authority take over the payments. On his death Jack and Jill receive £7,125 each.

Example 2:

Mr Singh and Mrs Kaur own their property as ‘joint tenants’ but, having discussed with their Solicitor the possible impact of care home fees, decided to change their ownership so they hold it as ‘tenants in common’ in equal shares.

Their house also has a value of £350,000 and they have joint savings of £50,000.

They then made ‘Property Trust Wills’ which ensure that the survivor can live in the house for life or can move to a different property if they choose. Subject to that, the deceased’s half share passes equally to their two children, Sunny and Simran. Everything else simply passes to the survivor – or their children on second death. Mr Singh sadly dies. His half share of the property is now held on ‘trust’ for Mrs Kaur’s benefit. The money in the bank account passes automatically to Mrs Kaur.

After a while Mrs Kaur also needs residential care and the Local Authority carry out a financial assessment. Her total assets are £225,000 (as she only owns half of the house). Like Mr Smith, she pays her care fees in full at first and then by making a contribution until £14,250 remains. When she passes away Sunny and Simran each receive, £94,625.

Our fees for the preparation of a pair of Property Trust Wills (including ‘severing’ the joint tenancy and updating the Land Registry records) are £675 plus VAT.

What Next?

Our experienced and friendly Wills and Probate Solicitors, based in Leicester, are here to help guide you making a Will for the first time or updating an existing Will.

You can contact us by telephone or email or arrange a face to face meeting in our office to discuss your requirements.

Give our team a call on 0116 201 8566 or contact us through our online enquiry form on our contact page.