I was asked recently to advise a lady after her husband had died.
His will created a trust that was originally done for Inheritance Tax planning under old rules which changed in 2007. The new rules mean that trust is no longer required for Inheritance Tax planning.
The family’s existing lawyers were going to charge a substantial fee just to administer his estate, wind the trust up and pay/transfer the assets to his wife.
But that misses the point.
What if she needs long-term care? All of her assets will then be vulnerable. Keeping the trust from her husband’s estate at least protected his assets.
And she can make a trust too for her own assets to make them easier for her family to administer in the future and possibly also ensure they are ring fenced from expensive care costs.
And what about her own planning? She needs Lasting Powers of Attorney, which the other lawyers had not even mentioned to her.
So I have recommended that the widow let us administer her husband’s estate and retain his assets, including his half of the house, within the trust. We are going to draw up a new trust for her to protect and help with the future administration of her assets. Both Trusts mean that she stays protected.
On top of that, we are going to prepare and register Lasting Powers of Attorney for both Health & Welfare and Property & Finance matters.
All of this planning is being done for the same fee as the other lawyers were going to charge to do just half a job on her husband’s estate, leaving all the family’s assets unprotected and unplanned for, for the future.
I know which plan I would go for. It is always essential to take everything into account, to make sure our advice covers all areas of a client’s planning, not just the immediate problem we are faced with.
You don’t know what planning you will need until you speak to a good solicitor. We will assess your situation, give you written advice on what you need and a fixed price quote for free.
To talk to us about your planning and for a free consultation phone 01229 811811 (then select option 1) and ask for Jane or Zoe or email us at enquiries@pooletownsend.co.uk
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