Planning your future and deciding what you would like to happen to your estate when you die can be difficult to think about. However, without careful planning and formally writing down your wishes using a Will and potentially an LPA, this can lead to difficulties for your loved ones. They may not be aware of your wishes in terms of funeral arrangements or legacies and dying intestate (without a Will) will mean the Rules of Intestacy will apply which could mean that your estate does not pass to your intended beneficiaries as you had hoped.
Having an LPA in place will support decisions if you are not able to make them and can be equally important as they can relate to decisions concerning medical and financial issues.
We always recommend putting LPAs in place when you are drafting a Will as these documents generally sit hand in hand. LPAs are much easier to put in place before they are needed and allow a nominated person(s) to make decisions on your behalf. LPAs replaced Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) which, if drafted before 2007, are still valid but both Wills and LPAs should be reviewed regularly to check that they still reflect your wishes and that details in them, such as named executors and attorneys are still valid.
Our team of lawyers are highly experienced in advising clients with complex and often high value assets on how best to manage them, both now and after their death. This includes working with colleagues in our Family and Property teams as well as with your existing accountants and wealth managers to ensure that your needs are met and that assets are owned and held in the most efficient way for your family.
We can support you to ensure that children from past relationships as well as any future children are provided for, and that property and other high value assets are managed effectively. For many of our clients, we support them throughout their lives.
A Will is a formal, legal document designed to set out what you would like to happen after you die. Anyone with assets of any kind should make sure they have a Will in place as without it, the Rules of Intestacy with apply.
In this scenario any assets you have will pass to a prescribed list of individuals which could mean that people who you wanted to benefit from your estate will miss out. This could include children from a previous marriage if you have remarried, as well as siblings, other relatives and friends. Our team regularly advise clients with drafting and updating Wills to ensure that they reflect their wishes.
It is worth remembering that a Will doesn’t just cover financial assets. It should also include details about your funeral (if you have specific wishes), details of the executors that you would like to manage your estate and arrangements for any children under eighteen or vulnerable adults who you are responsible for. In this scenario, it is wise to appoint a guardian to care for them and it is also a good idea to make financial provision for this.
If you are intending to leave a legacy behind such as a donation to charity, this should also be included in your Will to ensure that all beneficiaries are aware and to avoid any confusion or disputes after your death.
When considering leaving a gift to a charity, it is worth remembering that this will generally be exempt from Inheritance Tax and that it will be deducted from your estate before Inheritance Tax is calculated which could lead to a saving on tax payable. We can advise on what gifts count in this scenario and advise on the most efficient way to leave a legacy to a charity.
When writing a Will and considering your assets, it is also worth considering digital assets and making sure that these are included. This could include anything from blogs, websites and domain names to items of more sentimental value, such as photos and social media accounts. There may also be pure monetary elements such as funds held in cryptocurrencies.
Our Private Wealth team has a great deal of experience advising clients with complex financial situations to ensure that their assets are managed effectively and that their beneficiaries are provided for appropriately and fairly. We can guide you through any difficult or technical issues with sensitivity, always keeping your wishes front of mind as we suggest potential solutions to manage your affairs.
If you own property, the way it is owned will have an effect on how it is dealt with after your death. A property owned as ‘joint tenants’ means that, after your death, your share of the property will pass automatically to the surviving owner(s). Whilst this is generally your partner, this may not fully reflect your wishes.
A property can be owned as ‘tenants in common’ if parties contributed inequal shares to the property and wish to specify the proportion each of them owns. In this case, your share of the property can pass to others according to the terms of your Will.
We work closely with colleagues in the Family and Property teams to ensure that properties are bought and owned in the correct way in order to maintain any assets you have brought to the relationship and to provide for your family after your death. This may include drawing up nuptial agreements or declarations of trust to formalise your wishes as part of your estate planning.
We recommend reviewing the contents of your Will regularly to ensure that it still reflects your current needs. This includes reviewing it after significant life events such as marriage, the birth of a child or following an inheritance.
Should there then be any changes in tax laws or regulations which could have an impact on your Will arrangements, we will contact you to recommend a review of your documents.
If your relationship was to breakdown and you start the divorce or dissolution process, we would strongly recommend putting an interim solution in place to ensure that your assets do not automatically pass to your spouse should something happen to you before the divorce process is finalised. If you are considering separation, we can advise you on your specific situation in conjunction with a member of our Family team.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a document which is put in place to allow you to appoint one or more people to deal with your affairs if you are unable to. Previously this was managed via an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA). If you already have an EPA and it was registered before 1 October 2007, you can continue to use this although it is only valid for decisions relating to property and finance.
The Private Wealth team at BPE are used to advising clients on their full estate planning including who should manage their affairs in the future if they are unable to.
We can support you to ensure that the most appropriate attorneys are appointed in each situation. It may be that they are the same for both health and financial matters, but it may be more suitable for the two powers to remain separate. We are also able to act as attorneys for individual clients ourselves. Appointing a lawyer as one of your attorneys can often allow some of the emotion to be removed from the situation, which can help when making decisions that are more difficult for close family members to take. Other attorneys can also benefit from our experience of acting for other clients in similar situations. We are also able to advise attorneys on an ad-hoc basis for support on specific issues as they arise.
