family trust – Probate Experts Cost Cutters

Will Planning Advice after Ilott

Stephen Pett — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 17:07:44 +0000

The Ilott case has certainly put the spotlight on the dramatic changes in legal planning over the last couple of years. How recently have you reviewed your own Will, Powers of Attorney and have you considered the use of (in particular) Property Trusts?The Supreme Court has overturned a decision to increase the amount of money left to a woman whose estranged mother left her £500,000 to three animal charities. Prudential legal experts says financial advisers can play a key role preventing expensive will disputes by ensuring high net-worth clients are referred to solicitors specialising in estate planning.Clare Moffat, pensions expert and qualified solicitor at Prudential, said:“Rising property prices and other increases in the value of estates mean that legal disputes about inheritance are becoming more common. They can be hugely expensive and legal bills can sometimes be more than the value of estate. Advisers have a crucial role in preventing these disputes arising by working in conjunction with estate planning solicitors to help families discuss issues before it is too late.“Although pension funds do not normally form part of the estate, there are some scenarios where they may and solicitors need to be aware of this. With many retirees transferring valuable defined benefit schemes into defined contribution schemes and transfer values of 40 times final benefit not being uncommon, the scope for dispute may increase. The fact is that many solicitors may not fully understand the implications of pension freedoms for estate planning or the way in which pension death benefits work. Developing strong links with financial advisers is an important step in solving this problem.“One interesting quirk of the law is that although in England and Wales it is possible to disinherit your family it is not allowed under Scots law.”The Probate Department said: “We work closely with many financial advisers in England and Wales, and our attitude to Legal Planning is similar to financial advice: it needs to be reviewed on a regular basis. We have seen seismic changes in tax and the law when it comes to estate planning – not least the Ilott case. Now we have the potential probate fees which will (or may) dramatically affect out advice to clients. Team work with financial advisers and clients is really important to get the right results, and clients need to understand that reviews are essential, which is why we have developed our economical Peace of Mind Service.It is interesting to note that the legal costs incurred by the charities, in this case, were probably substantially in excess of the £50,000 Ilott finally kept. Even more interesting is that the judgement distinguished this case from others so that the case is not that useful as a precedent for the future.”More help on Probate/ Will Disputes.

Low Cost Family Legacy Creation

Stephen Pett — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 23:19:23 +0000

A substantial family legacy at little or no cost.

This is an article about leaving the best possible low-cost legacy. Family stories, mementos and keepsakes can be important to people than a cash inheritance. In this day and age it is easier than ever before to take photos, copy videos and make notes about things, people and events. And why make the next generation repeat any family tree research you have done?It is really not all about the money, though it is easy to turn families against each other with a badly thought through or tactless Last Will. We can help there too. Stories that are passed down verbally tend to fade away with the passing of an ageing relative. But a digital video record can last, with careful tending as technologies develop over the years.Here are a few steps you can take to create a non-financial family legacy:

1. Record Your Family Stories.

Write them down and ideally make an audio or video recording. Write careful notes on the backs of photos to preserve memories (but beware of penetrating inks). Those of us with bad writing can type on sticky labels. A photo with details of the people involved, the date and circumstances in which the photo was taken.

2. Make An Ethical Will.

Sharing your family values can be among the most treasured keepsakes. Consider writing an Ethical Will, which is a document that passes on your life story and personal values. An Ethical Will can take any form such as a video or a letter that is included with your Will.

3. Talk About Your Legacy Keepsakes.

Consider who would value your keepsakes, especially with a little of their history. You can remember a far wider class of people this way without upsetting close family. Just find out which of your family value which items to avoid later conflict. Talk with family members individually and as a group. With the most popular items you may need to set up a points system (say 10 for really important to 0 for not interested) and give people a limited number of points (votes) to “spend” and perhaps make it a secret ballot to allow you to make fine judgements on in-demand objects.Value would need to be factored in too. Come to an agreement then put it in writing. And if you work out a better system, please let us know! A common approach is each relative gets to pick one item in turn. Some of your heirs may not be happy with your decisions, but they’re less likely to be unhappy with each other if they do the picking! Again, value ought to play a part and valuable items probably should be dealt with separately.

4. Keep the Legacy Memorandum With Your Will.

Create a legacy memorandum to keep with your Will that details how you want to divide property with sentimental value. Why not add a photo of each item?

5. Avoid Favouritism

If you have favoured family members, show your affection while you are alive to make your division of property more equitable. If you want to leave a legacy that fosters harmony in your family, treat them as equally as possible. If that is not appropriate, try to ensure that the “losers” understand why.

6. Choose Your Executor Wisely.

Remember you’re giving power to one or two people often a family members. In many cases, this is absolutely fine, especially if there is no potential conflict or Inheritance Tax issues. This is the area where a firm like ours with in depth Inheritance Tax knowledge and a strong desire to minimise conflict may be beneficial to all concerned, despite the fees!

7) Have a look at our Family Bank Trust.

For many people whose main asset is their home, the family bank is the perfect way to maximise their contribution to future generations.

8) Consider the Peace of Mind Service.

Make sure your planning is secure and that you reconsider things regularly in the light of changes in circumstances, tax and the Law.We would like to thank Passare.com for the article which inspired this blog

Intestacy and Family Provision Claims on Death

Stephen Pett — Thu, 08 May 2014 15:59:43 +0000

Intestacy and Family Provision Changes after May 2014

Inheritance and Family Provision

The Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 changes the situation in three areas of the law. It will make some reforms to simplify and update the law of intestacy (which determines the way an estate is distributed in the absence of a will). It will adjust some technical rules on the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. That Act permits certain family members and dependants to apply to the court to vary the distribution of an estate. It also amends the Trustee Act 1925 so as to bring trustees’ powers to apply funds for the benefit of beneficiaries into line with current practice.

More on Probate Disputes Free Probate Dispute Claim Checker

The Act implements the majority of the proposals contained in the Law Commission report to bring inheritance law into line with the needs and expectations of families. It will make it simpler for people to deal with the practical and financial issues that arise when a member dies, and simplifies the administration of trusts.Intestacy and Family Provision: the Bill was introduced into the House of Lords in July 2013 and received Royal Assent in May 2014.The Law Commission’s report on inheritance and family provision also dealt with inheritance rights of cohabitants but these were contained in a separate draft Bill as the Law Commission acknowledged that these recommendations raised issues that did not apply to the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Bill.After careful consideration, the Government decided that the Law Commission’s recommendations about rights for cohabitants upon intestacy would not be implemented during this Parliament. This is consistent with the Government’s response to the Law Commission’s previous report, Cohabitation: Financial consequences of relationship breakdown, and reflects the continuing priority for family justice of completing the Governments significant ongoing reform programme when it comes to intestacy and family provision.

Society of Trust and Estate Planning Endorses Heir Hunters Fees

Stephen Pett — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:20:23 +0000

STEP Endorses heir hunters fees

Finders, the international probate genealogy firm, have today welcomed the guidance produced by STEP for Personal Representatives and Trustees on (Probate) Genealogists (sometimes known as Heir Hunters) fees, which endorses the beneficiary contingency fee.Finders, the international probate genealogy firm, have today welcomed the guidance produced by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) for Personal Representatives and Trustees on (Probate) Genealogists (sometimes known as Heir Hunters) fees, which endorses the beneficiary contingency fee. The STEP guidance, issued to 6,000 of its UK members, sets out issues for a personal representative to consider, when hiring professional probate genealogists to find heirs entitled to inherit under an estate. It highlights the importance of taking ‘reasonable steps to find all those who are entitled’ by employing a ‘genealogical research firm to achieve this’.STEP’s guidance acknowledges the advantage of several fee models, but crucially, endorses the beneficiary contingency fee; Finders’ most popular fee option. The STEP guidance states that the advantage of the contingency fee model is that ‘known relatives of the deceased do not directly suffer the expense of tracing relatives that have lost touch with the family.’Commenting on the STEP guidance, Daniel Curran, Director of Finders said:“We’re incredibly pleased that STEP has chosen to endorse the heir hunter contingency fee model. The STEP guidance acknowledges the importance of commission based contingency fees, which ensure that all cases can be resolved, including those where the search for a missing heir is simply not undertaken or, where the estate of known heirs is used up in fees paid for searching for missing heirs.“We have seen many instances of heir hunter firms charging only by the hourly rate racking up bills running into the tens of thousands of pounds. With unscrupulous heir hunters offering only an hourly rate paid by the general estate there is clearly no incentive to finish the job. In fact you could argue that these heir hunters want the job to last as long as possible! This is where the heir hunter’s contingency fee option is of most reassurance as the heir hunter can only be paid if they successfully locate living heirs who retain their services on a commission basis. This commission is expressed as a percentage of the final net sum due to the heir, thus if the estate becomes insolvent the heir hunter receives nothing. On an hourly rate the fees themselves that an heir hunter may charge could be the very cause of the estate becoming insolvent“Tracing heirs and locating unknown beneficiaries is complex, specialist work, requiring expertise and experience. In our experience a choice of fee option is vital to a healthy and competitive market and a good firm of probate genealogists (or heir hunters as they are sometimes known) will be keen to find the best fit for the consumer and discuss a variety of fee options and costing methods. This should always include the option for beneficiary contingency fees, which are currently Finders’ most popular fee option.”Under an heir hunter’s contingency fee agreement, customers may agree in advance a limit to the percentage commission that will be payable out of the inheritance of the successfully located beneficiary once the estate has been distributed. If the search by the probate genealogist is unsuccessful, whether because the missing heir is dead, cannot be found, or does not exist (e.g. a will leaves everything to the children of the testator’s son, but there are no children), then no fee is payable to the heir hunter by the estate and the inheritance of a previously known heir, or heirs, will remain unaffected.