| Wills | |
| 1. | Is your spouse/partner to inherit absolutely for them to deal with as they please or should their entitlement be placed in trust to ensure that the capital passes to the children (or other designated beneficiaries) on the second death? |
| 2. | At what age should children/grandchildren become entitled to capital – 18 or older? |
| 3. | Who is to inherit your estate if there is no surviving spouse/partner, children or grandchildren? |
| 4. | If your children are under the age of 18 when you both die who would you like to be their guardians? |
| 5. | Does your Will make adequate provision for the distribution of your jewellery, furniture and effects? |
| 6. | Is it necessary to protect the inheritance of a beneficiary because of their own disability or the risk of claims by creditors or a divorcing spouse? |
| 7. | Who are to act as your Executors to carry out the terms of your Will on the first death and the second death? |
| 8. | Would you prefer to be buried or cremated? |
| Inheritance Tax Planning | |
| 1. | Lifetime
Gifts (a) Are you utilising all the available exemptions? (b) Have you arranged for life policies, pension plans and death in service benefits to pass outside of your estates? (c) If you are faced with a prospective charge to Inheritance Tax and can afford to make a gift, that gift will escape any charge to Inheritance Tax under current legislation provided you survive the gift by 7 years. You can determine whether or not the gifts are to be absolute or in trust for the donees. |
| 2. | Wills. |
| Tax efficient Wills for married couples should utilise the nil rate band of Inheritance Tax (£300,000) on both estates, not just on the estate of the survivor. Do yours? | |
| 3. | Post Death Variations. |
| Within 2 years of death a beneficiary can redirect an inheritance to a third party and elect to have the redirected inheritance treated as though it came direct from the Deceased, thereby avoiding the usual requirement for a donor to survive such a gift by 7 years in order for it to escape any charge to Inheritance Tax. | |
| 4 | Gifts to spouses or UK Charities by way of lifetime gifts or under Wills or post death variations are usually exempt from Inheritance Tax without limit. |
| 5. | Properly structured gifts/legacies of farmland, business interests and shares in unquoted trading companies can qualify for generous reliefs from Inheritance Tax. |
| Living Wills/Advance Directives | |
| In what circumstances, if any, would you not want to receive any further medical treatment? | |
| Enduring Power of Attorney | |
| Who would you want to manage your affairs should you become physically or mentally incapable of managing them yourself during your lifetime? | |
| Would you want to place any restriction on what the attorney can deal with or when the attorney's powers should come into operation? | |
Further Advice |
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| The system is changing from 1st October 2007 so we strongly recommend clients put in place one before then. This is only a brief summary of the more important areas to consider. It is not intended as a full statement of the law. | |
| Home visits can be arranged and we are
happy to give a quotation for fees following an initial
consultation. For more information contact Fiona Bailey fiona.bailey@godwins-law.co.uk |
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