Special expertise is required where a business owner dies. Or indeed, loses the ability to make decisions due to accident or illness. Our probate and estate planning barrister will be happy to have a quick chat with you to see how urgent action is, as this will depend on the structure of the business. What needs doing will also vary. She can better advise you in advance, to make sure there is a proper succession plan and all the necessary documentation in place – death or disability can strike unexpectedly.When a small business owner dies, it is quite possible that the business will fail unless very rapid action is taken to allow the executors or administrators to continue running the business. So it is important that the advance Legal Planning takes the issues for the family and employees into account and is reviewed as circumstance change over the years.In many cases, as soon as the bank learns of the death, bank accounts will be frozen. This would lead to staff and creditors not being paid, for perhaps 6 to 9 months which would clearly be a disaster. As far as shareholders in limited companies are concerned and the death of a partner in a business, then the issues are quite different from those of sole owners. But they can be much more complex, and the needs for advance planning even more crucial. Many a widow or widower has expected a handsome sum from the sale or continuation of a business and received not a bean, because the basic precautions were not made. So if you are married to a business owner, it is up to you to make sure they have guaranteed your situation as far as possible. Exactly the same applies if you work for a business run by the owners (and indeed in some larger businesses.
What is needed is prompt action to secure the authority to carry on running the business so as to preserve it as an asset and a legacy for those who will inherit.This action needs to be taken very quickly before panic starts to set in amongst staff and suppliers. As far as staff are concerned, the best ones will find it easier to get new jobs quickly, potentially leaving a business crippled by the loss of what remained of the experienced and senior staff now the business owner is no more.All business owners should have a succession plan in place and where possible, staff who can carry on despite the death of the business owner or their disability for a significant period. It may be just a few days before the business starts to unravel, and both the value and the jobs vanish for ever.Remember, the business can’t even be sold until probate has been granted, so keeping it going in the meanwhile is crucial. And it is not an issue which many firms will have the expertise to deal with.We can offer advice both in planning terms for the death or disability of the business owner and for sorting things out if the necessary planning is not in place.
Strangely, the disability (in the sense that they are not able to make decisions temporarily or permanently, typically through accident, stroke or mental health issues) of the business owner is far harder to sort out quickly than their death, and the planning is often fairly inexpensive and can be paid for by the business. It is however a fairly slow process as bureaucracy plays a big part.So either way, please contact us and we will endeavour to sort things out for you as economically and rapidly as possible. The death of a business owner can be a disaster, and is best planned for (contact our Estate Planning department) but requiries immediate action if it is too late to plan.
]]>Over the last 10 years, DIY Probate has taken market share from solicitors.In 2011, nearly 16,000 people whose Last Wills came up for probate didn’t appoint an executor to sort out the estate, or appointed executors who were unwilling or unable to get involved, say the latest data from the Probate Service. This is a 5% worse than 2010. More on Probate Disputes. Probate Claim Checker.Kevin Cole, Head of Research at Title Research seemed to think this indicated a need for greater regulation of Will Writers, but we can’t see the relevance and think he was just jumping on a bandwagon. The real problem is two fold:1) People writing DIY Wills and2) Wills not being reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that the executors (and everything else) remain appropriate. What is relevant when you are 20 or 40 or 60 won’t be the same 20 years later, and may change within months. We are great fans of the system at Will Custodian Ltd, which is designed to prevent this problem, as well as the problem of Lost Wills. Will Custodian also offer a Will Checking Service to new members.
The 2011 statistics also show that 86,470 grants of probate were issued to private individuals, mostly doing DIY Probate.Mr Cole said: “The Legal Services Board’s plans to regulate estate administration will not affect the thousands of people who don’t use a probate service provider to administer an estate. The risks of mistakes will remain with complex DIY probate such as undervaluing the estate, under paying tax or missing out entitled heirs.”That is why we offer our hand holding service at the Probate Department Ltd – we recognise that many people do want to cut costs and DIY probate. But we also understand that most of them would like a little help here and there and maybe for a quick check at the end. Unlike most probate firms, we’re happy to do as little as 15 minutes work, and we charge by the minute, not in units of 6 minutes which can substantially increase fees. Nor do we charge a percentage of the value of the gross estate as a “responsibility allowance.”Solicitors share of the probate market has dropped by 30% between 2006 and 2010. In 2011 that decline has slowed with 148 more solicitor grants being issued than in 2010. Grants to individuals for DIY Probate remained at the same level for the period.The Probate Department Ltd offers a range of services from doing everything to helping for 15 minutes. And our fees are VERY sensible. Why not give us a call?
Our Executors liver far apart: is it necessary for all executors to be present at the Probate Registry when the interview takes place?This is one of those probate questions which comes up regularly, so here is the answer.Yes and No! If you use us or a solicitor, we can carry this out for you.If you are DIYing, then all Executors who intend to act have to attend the interview, but it is possible to arrange the interviews one after another in different Probate Registries. Clearly, this will cause some delay as papers are passed from one Probate Registry to the next!
HMRC is increasingly challenging property valuations when estates are being wound up.
Probate Quotes Probate Disputes
It would seem that many folk undervalue property when preparing the figures for a Grant of Probate. What they don’t realise is that HMRC have direct access to the District Valuers service:“DVS is the commercial arm of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and provide professional property advice across the public sector. We offer a broad range of property-related services, including Strategic Asset Management and Energy and Sustainability services.We employ around 400 people within DVS and are able to draw on the wider pool of skills, expertise and resources of the VOA. The VOA is one of the largest employers of Chartered Surveyors in the UK and operates from an extensive network of offices, covering the whole of England, Wales and Scotland. This enables us to undertake the largest national instructions as well as smaller local commissions in a cost-effective way.As we are part of the public sector ourselves we have a unique understanding of the needs of our clients and the financial and regulatory pressures that they face. Our specialist sector teams have extensive experience in central government , regional, local and devolved government, health, transport and infrastructure, environment, emergency services, educational bodies.We also publish an annual Property Market Report which draws on our wide knowledge and experience to give an independent picture of various property markets across the UK. “So if you think you can pull the wool over HMRC’s eyes when it comes to property valuations, you are playing a dangerous game which could result in significant financial penalties. If HMRC consider the undervaluation is careless or deliberate, the extra Inheritance Tax penalty can be very substantial.The lesson to be drawn from this is to be certain that you can justify any valuation to the HMRC: fairly easy with properties on an estate, but you may well need the services of a qualified valuer if the property concerned is not easily comparable with others.
Thes could be useful:
Cash Buyer as an alternative.