Wills

Over two thirds of the UK adult population do not have a Will and half of them never will.  These people are missing out on a fantastic opportunity to look after their families and frustrate the tax man.

What is a Will?

A Will is a legal document that states how your assets (estate) are to be dealt with when you die.  Even if your estate is small and your intentions simple you should make a Will.

Why make a Will?

If you do not have a Will a number of problems could arise:

• If there is no Will in place it may take longer and be more costly to administer the process of distributing your estate to heirs
• Your survivors may waste time and money trying to find out if you did make a Will, and tracing your possessions and relatives.
• Without a Will your next of kin will be appointed to administer your affairs and at the time of bereavement they may prefer not to take on this role.  In many cases friends or relatives may be more suited to the job.
• The law will state how the estate is to be distributed and this may not comply wish your wishes
• The law may also require various trusts to be set up which may be overly expensive and an unnecessary expense
• Your heirs may have to pay inheritance tax or more tax then would have been the case had a Will been drawn up to pass possessions tax efficiently

Not only will making a Will avoid these issues it can also be used to appoint guardians for your children, express preferences about funeral arrangements and the use of your body for medical purposes after death.

Trusts

Trusts can be used to reduce tax, protect your families long term finances and to ensure that your beneficiaries get the full value of the gift you leave to them.

What is a Trust?

A Trust is a legal arrangement where the legal owners of assets (money, buildings, land, personal items etc.) can give away these assets but retain the control over how they are used for the benefit of someone else.

Why use a Trust?

A trust is useful if you wish to give assets but continue to maintain control.  It gives you’re the flexibility to control who benefits or the amount they get if circumstances change.  They can deal with many situations such as giving to children and groups separating capital from income, giving on special occasions or in set circumstances.  Trusts can also be tax efficient by avoiding tax problems that occur with an outright gift.