Alzheimer’s Society with their Forget Me Not Appeal.

​Throughout the month of June, the Private Client team at GoodyBurett will be spreading awareness and raising funds for Alzheimer’s Society with their Forget Me Not Appeal.

The team know first-hand how important support and understanding is to not only those living with dementia, but their carers and loved ones. The team assist and advise clients and their families almost every day on matters of capacity.

The Forget me not Appeal was launched by Alzheimer’s Society in 2021 after an increase in their demand for services during the pandemic. Those individuals living with dementia, their carers and family often feel they are forgotten or cast aside.

This is something that the team know too well and understand it can be a challenging time for our clients and their family. But by taking advice at the earliest opportunity is most beneficial. The team fully appreciate that each individual client has their own unique circumstances, and they ensure they can adapt to all the client’s needs.

Our Solicitors are qualified Dementia Friends and are always looking into ways as to how they can promote a dementia friendly society by raising awareness and understanding within the community. They feel that it is important to spread information and awareness to those affected by dementia, that it is always beneficial to obtain legal advice on Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and matters surrounding Court of Protection.

The team will wear their Forget Me Not badge with pride this June to honour our clients and their families affected.

If you would like to know more about how the team can support you or your loved ones, please feel free to contact our Private Client team at the Colchester office on 01206 577676 or any email enquiries can be sent to: [email protected]

Our pets are so important to many of us, so are we able to provide for them in the same way as we would for any other family member after we die?

​Unfortunately, in England and Wales you cannot leave a gift directly to your pet or pets within your Will.  You can however, gift your pet within your Will to a friend or family member.  We would advise speaking with your chosen carer in the first instance to check that they agree.  Many people then decide to leave a legacy to the carer on the understanding that they will give your pet a home and care for your pet for the rest of their lives.

An alternative would be to set up a Legacy Fund within your Will.  Essentially, you would be setting up a trust fund for the benefit of your pet and your Trustees would use the income raised and or the capital for the upkeep and maintenance throughout the life of your pet.  This would be for a specified period of time and you would still need to think about who would actually provide the care for your pet.  The Fund would need to be maintained and managed by the Trustees until the death of the pet and therefore this may be a little complicated for many of us.

A final way of ensuring your pet is well cared for is to request that an animal charity care for or rehome your pet.  In such cases, a legacy is left to the charity for their use along with the request to care for the pet.  Again, we would advise speaking with your chosen charity before you make any requests in your Will.

If you would like to discuss your options for including your pet within your Will, please contact our Private Client Team at Colchester who are available for appointments on 01206 577676 or alternatively email us: [email protected]

How to make things easier for your loved ones in the future

Whilst we all go about our day-to-day business, there is an elephant in every single room we enter. We cannot always see it, but it can always see us and there are times when our lives brush past it and we emerge unscathed.

If you haven’t realised by now, the elephant in the room is in fact death – a topic no one likes to address. Whether we like to talk about it or not, the fact is this – it will catch up with us all at some point in our lives. The main question you need to ask yourself is ‘How can I make things easier for my loved ones when I’m gone?’

It is without question, critical to have an up-to-date Will in place throughout your life and any financial adviser will ask you whether you have one in place at initial discussions.

In the UK, Wills by nature are not something people think a lot about and are often associated with the elderly. This article isn’t solely about Wills in case you were wondering, although if you don’t have a Will, you really should get one.

If you pass away without having a Will, your estate passes by the rules of Intestacy. In this instance, your assets within your estate may very well pass to individuals that you do not wish to inherit. Therefore, it is vital to have an up-to-date current Will.

Recent research on Wills in the UK carried out by Royal London, YouGov, IRN Research and Orchard has revealed some interesting statistics.

Here are some of the most striking statistics:

• 4 million adults do not know where to begin when it comes to writing a will.
• Around 54% of adults do not have a will.
• Six in 10 (59%) of parents do not have a will or have one that is out of date.

When you pass away, it can be rather daunting for your loved ones to deal with the task of locating all your assets and taking stock of what makes up your estate. There can be many assets within a person’s estate such as your properties, bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages and loans, pensions, ISAs, and other investments.

All too often, people are very private about their personal finances with their family members. This means that when someone does pass away, it can take a considerable length of time to ascertain all the assets in someone’s estate.

The good news is, this process can be expedited, and you could provide yourself with peace of mind by having the information your loved ones need during a difficult period of loss, all in one document that sits alongside your Will.

GoodyBurrett, along with Fiducia Wealth Management have collaborated and created a ‘What I Own & Where I Keep It’ document. Designed to run alongside your Will and personal documents.

In our document you can list all the assets in your estate and update these periodically as things change throughout your life. Within the document, you can include important information such as contact details of your Executors and beneficiaries. Any additional information regarding your funeral arrangements and wishes and any other details that would assist your family during the difficult period of loss.

Likewise, if you have made any gifts to loved ones during your lifetime, you can keep a record of this in your very own ‘What I Own & Where I Keep It document’. This will help establish a record of any lifetime gifting and thus potentially reducing any Inheritance Tax liabilities (some gifts are potentially IHT exempt) and the passing over of more wealth to your loved ones.

With property prices rising substantially in recent years, it doesn’t take much to realise your estate’s value is higher than you may have initially thought. Add to this any other assets you might have, such as a Pension or other saving plans, you can imagine the complexity of finding all this information in a timely fashion could be quite difficult for a loved one grieving.

If you have been unfortunate to have to deal with a loved one’s estate already, you may understand some of the difficulties involved and the potential complexities that can occur. It can be a daunting prospect hence why it is important to consider instructing an experienced Probate Solicitor who can assist and advise you during this process.

As we have mentioned previously in this article, the document does not replace your need for a Will, but it does simplify things for your loved ones during a very stressful time.

Not only is the ‘What I Own & Where I Keep It’ document essential for your loved ones dealing with your estate after you have passed away, it would also be a vital tool to assist those caring for you if you were to lose capacity. If you have Lasting Powers of Attorney in place, appointing individuals to manage your Property and Financial Affairs on your behalf if you were to lose capacity, your ‘What I Own & Where I Keep It’ document would provide them with all the information they would need to continue managing your affairs, in the way that you have always done so. Without a Power of Attorney in place, if you were to lose capacity, your finances would be inaccessible.

If you do not have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, this is something you should certainly consider and discuss with your financial advisor.

As the saying goes, knowledge is power, and through our ‘What I Own & Where I Keep It’ document, you have the power to provide the knowledge to your loved ones. There is no better time to start having your assets documented for your loved ones to pick up and understand easily when the time arrives. It is advised that this document is stored safely alongside your Will and personal documents.

Make things easier for your loved ones in the future by downloading our ‘What I Own & Where I Keep It’ document and start collating your estates information today. If you would like help completing the document for the first time, speak to a member of our team who will be only too happy to help.

To download your free copy of What I Own and Where I Keep It, click here

Fiducia are a well well-established multi-award winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners with a proven track record of delivering outstanding wealth management and financial advice to private clients, business owners, family estates, charities, pension funds and trustees on tax, investments and financial planning. Their offices are in Dedham, Colchester on the Essex/Suffolk border and in Chelmsford, Essex. For more information about Fiducia, visit their website.

Administering the Estate of the Deceased

If a family member or friend has died and you are named as an Executor in their Will, do you need to have a Probate Solicitor help administer the estate?

There is no obligation for an Executor to engage a Probate Solicitor to administer the estate. However, as Executor, the obligation is yours to fully administer the estate, this includes (this list is not exhaustive); the transfer and encashment of assets, dealing with any property, applying for a Grant where applicable, dealing with any Inheritance Tax or any other taxation issues, paying all debts and distributing the estate.  However, many Executors approach us and ask us if we will assist with or deal entirely with the administration of the deceased’s estate.

In what circumstances might an Executor engage our services to assist them?  There are many reasons as follows:-

• The deceased is the survivor of a husband/wife/civil partner.
• The Estate may be over the IHT threshold.
• There are many assets to be dealt with and encash.
• There is a property to be sold or transferred.
• The Will may be challenged.
• You need to apply for a Grant of Probate.
• There may be Trusts or tax issues to be dealt with.
• There may be other complications or tensions between family members or Executors.
• Unusual requests or assets outside the UK.
• You may feel that the help and support from a professional would be beneficial.

Our Private Client Team at Colchester and Dunmow are available for appointments so please do give us a call either at the Colchester office on 01206 577676 or our Dunmow office on 01371 873277.

Any email enquiries can be sent to [email protected]

In September 2021, it was ruled that the Duke of Edinburgh’s Will that was executed on 5^th June 2013 is to remain secret for at least 90 years.

​It has been a standard procedure for over a century that after the death of a senior member of the Royal Family, the Courts are asked to seal their Wills. This means that it will not be open to public inspection.

Furthermore, the value of the estate declared for a Grant of Probate would also be excluded and not open to the public. This was ruled by the High Court to protect the “dignity and standing” of the Queen and the Royal Family.

Unlike Wills that are granted probate, they do become public. By law, when a Grant of Probate is made with respect to a deceased’s estate, any Wills or other documents that are relevant to the Grant must be open to inspection.

Interestingly, the President also revealed that he is the custodian of a safe containing the wills of 30 deceased senior Royals. It’s understood the first family member whose will was sealed by the Court in 1910 was Prince Francis of Teck, the younger brother of Queen Mary.

However, one will that was not sealed was that of Diana, Princess of Wales. Unlike other members of the Royal Family, her Will was published after her death in 1997. She gave quite a few legacies to her godchildren, but the remainder of her estate was divided between her sons when they reached the age of 25.

The President of the family division Court, who is also head of the Probate Registries ruled that after 90 years after the Grant of Probate, an “initial and private process will be undertaken to consider whether at that stage the will may be unsealed and made public”. The physical process of unsealing must be conducted by a professional archivist to ensure that the document and its seals are properly preserved.

The last time a request was made to unseal a Royal’s Will was in 2007. Robert Brown requested to make the Will of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret available, claiming he was the illegitimate child of Princess Margaret. This was not allowed, and was a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal as an “imaginary and baseless claim”.

Our Private Client Team at Colchester and Dunmow are available for appointments at the offices so please do give us a call at the Colchester office on 01206 577676 or our Dunmow office on 01371 873277. Any email enquiries can be sent to [email protected]

Your Will and Inheritance Tax Planning

There are many reasons to ensure that your Will is up to date and relevant to your circumstances. One of the biggest is ensuring that on your death, your wishes are followed rather than your estate being divided subject to the Intestacy Rules – a set of rules that determines who will inherit your estate.

However, ensuring your Will is up to date also provides an opportunity for you to undertake any necessary tax planning.

A key part of the estate planning process, is to assess your financial estate against your personal circumstances to understand what your inheritance tax liability would be. Once you know this, you can work with your Solicitor, and if necessary, a Financial Advisor to legitimately plan for the future of you and your loved ones both before and after your death.

What is surprising to many people currently is that tax planning is no longer considered to be an exclusive activity for the very wealthy.

With continually raising house prices and an inheritance tax allowance that has been fixed now since 2009 many people are finding that even with just a property and modest savings, they need to consider the inheritance tax implications of their estates. 

Further food for thought is that receipts from HMRC Tax and NIC Receipt data shows that in the tax year 2020 -2021 the treasury collected £5.3 billion in inheritance tax revenue.

Working with a Solicitor on your Will is the first step to ensuring that your loved ones are not left with an unexpected inheritance tax bill.

For further information or to make an appointment please call the Colchester office on 01206 577676 or our Dunmow office on 01371 873277.

Any email enquiries can be sent to [email protected]