What to consider when including a Discretionary Trust within your Will

You may have decided to include a Discretionary Trust within your Will (or you may be wondering what Discretionary trust is!), so first things first…What is a Discretionary Trust?

A Discretionary Trust is set up giving the Trustees (appointed by you) the discretion and control to make decisions about how (and to who) the income and capital is distributed. The Trustees will have the power to make decisions about whether to pay income, capital or both to the beneficiaries, who to make payments to (from the named beneficiaries or class of beneficiaries named by you) and how often payments are made.

The main issue that we have highlighted when reviewing our clients’ existing Wills and Discretionary Trusts is:

BENEFICIARIES

A Discretionary Trust allows your Trustees the discretion and choice to make payments (distributions) to the potential beneficiaries (or category of beneficiaries) named within the Discretionary Trust.

If you have only named one beneficiary, then this is NOT a Discretionary Trust. This could have tax implications (as well as other implications!) for the beneficiary of the Trust.

So, how do we resolve this?

We would recommend considering allowing the Trustees the ability to add further beneficiaries and naming a category or class of beneficiaries (this could be as simple as; children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews etc.) so that the scope of the beneficiaries is wide and there is no risk of a Bare Trust or Interest in Possession being created, rather than a Discretionary Trust.

Having a wider pool of beneficiaries can also assist if the Trust lasts for a prolonged period after your death and the original beneficiaries that you have named predecease you or die shortly after your death and prior to the full Trust being distributed.

So, why are we telling you?

Discretionary Trusts can be useful but as you can see, there are some common mistakes.

Before you decide on including a Discretionary Trust within your Will, make sure that you have considered the above points and that those drafting errors aren’t present in your Will!

If you have any questions, would like to consider putting a Will in place or a FREE review of your existing Will, please call us on 01727 865121 or drop us an email Info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk

Leah Waller

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11th June 202011th June 2020

GUARDIANS: How do I appoint Guardians for my children?

GUARDIANS:
How do I appoint Guardians for my children?

A definite pain point for many of our clients is, having GUARDIANS in place for their children should anything happen to them (as parents).

Often, talking to us is their first step in thinking about who they should appoint as Guardians and exactly what that role entails. It is often a discussion and conversation that parents will avoid for fear of ‘tempting fate’ or not knowing who to ask, or even upsetting someone if they DON’T ask them!

This is where we come in! We are happy to have these discussions in a nice relaxed; usually within their home, over a cup of tea, when the kids are tucked up in bed! We go through the role of a Guardian, what their responsibilities are, some of the considerations that the parents may want to have a think on and then the possible options. All leading up to the parents making a decision and documenting that within their Will.

One stumbling point that parents may come across at this stage is…agreeing on the Guardians! Some parents will immediately know who they want to choose and are in agreement, in other circumstances we talk through all of the possibilities, weighing up the pros and cons of each and then help the parents to come to an agreement.

The initial discussion usually takes 45-60 minutes but we are happy to stay for as long as our clients want (especially if the tea is flowing!) and we go away and prepare all the documentation ready to return and get everything signed within a week. This takes care of the worries from 30% of people in the UK that making a Will is time consuming and the 43% that think it is complicated! We are always happy to have telephone discussions or follow up appointments if necessary to ensure that our clients are 100% happy with all of their decisions.

Once the Will is in place and the Guardians have been appointed, the parents are left with peace of mind, knowing that their children will be cared for by the people they trust and have appointed in the way they want them to be, should the need arise.

Often a job that is on so many parents’ to-do list…but never gets ticked off…we can definitely help make it painless!

We are always available for a free consultation, so if you want to check your existing Will, have any questions or put a new Will in place, get in touch.

If you have any questions, would like to consider putting a Will in place or a FREE review of your existing Will, please call us on 01727 865121 or drop us an email Info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk

Leah Waller

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16th April 202023rd April 2020

We will review your Will…for FREE!

We will review your Will...for FREE!

So, you have a Will in place…GREAT!

But…it was made 5, 10, 15 (plus!) years ago?

How much has changed since you made your Will…and we are not just talking about the situation that we now find ourselves in with COVID-19. We are talking changes in family dynamics, change in assets, moving house, having children, grandchildren, maybe even great-grandchildren!

Does your Will still do what you want it to and most importantly, does it ensure that everything that you have worked so hard for, goes to where YOU want it to?

We offer a FREE Will Review to check just that, and talk through anything that may be missing.

Just to be clear…this Will Review is COMPLETELY FREE and there is absolutely no obligation or follow up from us (unless you want it, of course!).

We always recommend reviewing your Will every 2-5 years, as so much can change in that time. If your Will is still doing what you want it to then, great, put it back safely to where it is stored and review again in a couple of years.

So, what are some of the key areas that you should be thinking about when deciding upon whether to review your Will?

EXECUTORS

Are the people that you have appointed to

administer your Estate (your Executors) still the people that you want to be in charge?

This may change over time, as people get older and relationships change. When you first made your Will, you may have appointed parents, who may now be too old to take on such a responsibility, perhaps your siblings or even adult children may be better placed to take on this role?

GUARDIANS

Guardians are put in place within your Will as

the designated person, or people, to legally take care of your children if you are no longer around to be able to do so. When reviewing your Will it is worth considering who you have in as your Guardians, much like Executors, you may have appointed parents, who may now be too old to take on the role, perhaps your siblings or close friends may be better placed?

BENEFICIARIES

Your Will is your chance to ensure that

everything you have worked for, goes to those YOU want it to and that may well change as you grow, circumstances change and new additions to the family come along. Reviewing your Will can ensure that those beneficiaries that you want to inherit, WILL.

INHERITANCE TAX PLANNING

Are there provisions and planning that can be

done now, or in the near future, to reduce your Inheritance Tax liability later on?

TRUSTS

Trusts allow you to protect your assets and

ensure they are looked after for the beneficiary or beneficiaries.

DISABLED TRUSTS

Are you leaving money to a Vulnerable Person (a minor or an adult)? This could affect their means-tested benefits should they receive a substantial inheritance and so a Disabled Person’s Trust may be worthwhile considering to mitigate this.

CARE HOME FEES

Is there planing that can be done now to protect your Home from Care Home Fees should care for you or your spouse/partner be necessary in the future?

There are so many decisions to think about and choices to make, but don’t let that put you off!

We can help you through any queries that you have and make things as simple and easy as possible.

ENSURE YOUR WILL DOES WHAT YOU WANT IT TO

If you have any questions, or would like a FREE review of your existing Will, please call us on 01727 865121 or drop us an email Info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk

Leah Waller

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6th February 202023rd April 2020

When should I get a Will?

When should I get a Will?

We often get asked…

“Do I really need a Will, won’t everything just go to my children/husband/wife?”

Well, sadly it isn’t as simple as that (not many things are!).

You may have seen our flowchart of what happens if you die without a Will (also known as intestate) but here it is again:

So, as you can see, it is not as straightforward as you may have hoped.

It is not something we can predict (that is, when our time is up) however, it is something that we can plan for!

So, some of the stages in your life that you may want to consider putting a Will in place (if you haven’t already!) or reviewing your Will are:

Buying a Property

Whether you are buying a property to live in yourself, with someone else, or to rent out and use as an income, it is important to consider how that house is owned (solely, as Joint Tenants or as Tenants in Common) as this will have a bearing on what happens to the property upon your death.

If you are able to gift the property on your death (or part of the property) then your Will will determine exactly what happens to that property and who inherits.

If you are in doubt about how a current property of yours is held, or what consequences that has, please do get in touch and we can help.

Getting Married

When you get married, if you have no children and no Will in place, then everything will pass to your spouse upon your death.

However, when you have children, the first £250,000 (including the value of any property owned solely by you or as a Tenant in Common) will pass to your spouse along with all your possessions and the remainder will be split with your spouse receiving an interest in half and the remaining half being split equally between your children.

This may not be what you would want to happen and so making a Will is important.

Equally, where you marry for a second (or subsequent) time, you may want to protect some of you previous earnings and assets for children from a previous marriage or to dispose of in another way, rather than it all passing to your new spouse and so this is where a Will is extremely important.

A Will also becomes void on marriage (unless the Will states the intended marriage), this is something you need to consider and something that is not commonly known.

Becoming a Parent

We have discussed above how your assets are divided if you are married, have children but do not have a Will.

If you have children and are not married, then your assets are split equally between your children in the first instance.

There is no such thing as a ‘common-law husband or wife’ in relation to inheritance and so even if you have been ‘living as married’ your partner will not be entitled to any inheritance (unless they proceed with a lengthy legal claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975).

A Will allows you to put Trusts in place for your children so that you can set the age at which they inherit (rather than them inheriting at 18) and also allows you to provide for any vulnerable children that you may have, such as those with disabilities to ensure that their money is looked after and also doesn’t have any impact on their benefits in the future.

Another important aspect of a Will when you are a parent, is appointing Guardians!

Appointing Guardians in your Will gives you the opportunity to appoint the people that you trust to look after your children, and bring them up, should you no longer be around to do so. This saves any lengthy court cases and prevents the children from having to go into care or into the control of the Local Authorities whilst Legal Guardians are found for them.

These are just a few milestones that may trigger the need for a Will, we would encourage everyone over the age of 18 to get a Will (of course we would!) but apart from anything else it just means that you have peace of mind knowing that everything will be as YOU want it, and it removes that burden from your loved ones at what will already be a terribly difficult time for them.

How difficult is it to make a Will?

The process is quite simple, an initial meeting where we discuss your needs and take instructions should take no longer than an hour. Your Will writer can then draft the documents and arrange another meeting to sign everything off and make it legally valid. The process can be completed in just a few days depending on how complex your Will may be.

If you have any questions, would like to consider putting a Will in place or a FREE review of your existing Will, please call us on 01727 865121 or drop us an email Info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk

Leah Waller

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30th October 201923rd April 2020

What is Inheritance Tax and how can I reduce it?

What is Inheritance Tax and how can I reduce it?

Most of us will pay taxes for a large proportion of our lives and then still leave our loved ones with a tax bill to pay upon our death for Inheritance Tax…it doesn’t seem fair does it?

So what exactly is Inheritance Tax? When is it payable and is there anything that you can do to reduce your Inheritance Tax bill?

Let’s take a look…

Inheritance Tax only becomes payable on death and is calculated taking into consideration the value of everything that you own at the date of your death and including any gifts that you made within the seven years prior to your death. Any debts or liabilities that you have at the date of your death will be deducted from the value of your assets and this final balance is what is used to calculate whether any Inheritance Tax is payable.

If you are leaving your assets (property, money, personal possessions etc.) to your spouse or civil partner then this will be exempt from Inheritance Tax, as are any gifts made to Charities.

However, anything left to children or anyone else will be subject to Inheritance Tax where the value exceed the Inheritance Tax Threshold.

The Inheritance Tax Threshold is currently set at £325,000 per person and an additional £150,000 can be claimed if you are passing your residential property to a direct descendent (children / grandchildren), this is termed the Residential Nil Rate Band. The figure of £150,000 is set to rise to £175,000 in April of 2020 meaning that each person will have £500,000 before having to pay Inheritance Tax. This is also transferable between spouses and civil partners, meaning that if you pass everything to your spouse or civil partner upon your death then no Inheritance Tax will be payable and from 2020 (if both your death and your spouse/civil partner passes after April 2020) then your Estate can total £1million before any Inheritance Tax is payable.

If your estate is worth more than £2million then you lose the right to claim all of the Residential Nil Rate Band, thus for every £2 over the £2million valuation, you will lose £1 of the Residential Nil Rate Band.

Inheritance Tax is payable at 40% of anything above the Inheritance Tax Threshold (or Nil Rate Band).

If you are leaving 10% or more of your Estate to Charity (whether one or multiple Charities) then your rate of Inheritance Tax will be reduced to 36%.

Now, we mentioned above that any gifts made in the seven years prior to your death will be taken into account when calculating the value of your Estate. HOWEVER, if these gifts were made from surplus income then they do not need to be taken into account when calculating your Inheritance Tax liability. We all benefit from a £3,000 allowance each year which we are able to gift before Inheritance Tax become payable and so it may well be important to consider this when assessing the value of a deceased loved one’s Estate.

There may be other exemptions on gifts that you can benefit from such as gifts on marriage, you can find out more about this in our article – Inheritance Tax: What can be done to reduce your exposure?

Another consideration that we would always advise looking at is putting your property into a Trust, meaning that upon their death the property passes to whoever they want it to (perhaps their children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews) but their spouse is entitled to benefit from the property and live there until their death or until they remarry (if this happens). This not only has the benefit of protecting the property for your intended beneficiary but also protects you and your spouse if the property is valued in relation to Care Fees as the share in Trust will not be taken into consideration.

As always, we would always recommend reviewing your Will regularly to ensure that it still does exactly what you want it to and that you have considered possible benefits and exemptions that you could benefit from.

Check out our article – Inheritance Tax: What can be done to reduce your exposure? For more information on reducing your Inheritance Tax liability.

If you would like to discuss your Inheritance Tax liability, or putting a Will in place, call us on 01727 865 121 or email us at info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk for a free consultation

Leah Waller

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25th January 201923rd April 2020

PLANNING…Wills Checklist

PLANNING...
Wills Checklist

This week we are focusing on ensuring that firstly, you have a Will but secondly, and most importantly, that your Will does exactly what you want it to…and is valid!

Remember, a Will is a working document and we always recommend reviewing your Will every three to five years (as a minimum) and when a life event occurs to ensure that it still does what YOU want it to.

We have set out below a little checklist of considerations and points so that you can review your own Will and ensure that it is up to date and your wishes will be carried out when needed.

Executors

1. Have you appointed someone that you TRUST implicitly as your Executor (or has the person who drafted your Will been inserted)?

1. Does your Will mention replacement Executors to cover circumstances in which your first choice Executor is unable or unwilling to act?

CHILDREN – such an important consideration for any parents!

1. Who would you like to look after your children should both you and your spouse pass before they reach 18?

1. Have you thought about replacement Guardians to cover circumstances in which your first choice Guardians are unable or unwilling to act?

Trusts

1. What age would you like your children to reach before having unconditional access to their inheritance (usually 18, 21 or 25)?

1. Who have you appointed as Trustees (Managers, if you like) of your finances should your children inherit before reaching 18 (or the age you have prescribed in the Will)?

1. Has a professional individual / body / organisation been appointed as Trustee and you would prefer to appoint a loved one?

1. Do you need to consider including a Vulnerable Beneficiary Trust and are you aware of the special tax treatment?

1. Do you want to pass your property to your children but ensure your spouse has somewhere to live for the remainder of their life?

Specific Gifts

1. Are there any specific gifts that you wish to leave to anyone?

Wedding ring
Watch
Jewellery
Money etc.

Animals

1. Do you have any animals that you need to make provisions for in your Will?

Exclusions

1. Is there anyone that you have specifically excluded from your Will (an ex-spouse, perhaps) that we should clarify an exclusion for?

Funeral Wishes and Organ Donation

1. Have you included your Funeral wishes in your Will or have you put a Funeral Plan in place?

1. Have you included your wishes as to organ donation?

The Legalities

1. Witnessing

Has your Will been witnessed by two individuals that saw you sign the Will?

Are the witnesses, or their spouse, mentioned in the Will as a Beneficiary?

1. Marriage

Marriage can make your Will invalid, unless the intended marriage is stated within your Will. So, if you have got married since writing your Will that Will will no longer be valid.

If you would like to have a free chat about your existing Will or making a new Will, please contact us on info@TotalLegacyCare.co.uk or 01727 865 121

Leah Waller

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14th November 201823rd April 2020

Nursery Rhymes and Death…What is the connection?

Nursery Rhymes and Death... What is the connection?

So, why do we use nursery rhymes to talk about Death?!

It may seem like an unusual way to get our point across, but talking about death is always an uncomfortable conversation and so doing this through Nursery Rhymes has been a great way of getting people talking and encouraging them to plan for their families’ future!!

Nobody likes to think about death, as is evident by almost half the country not having a Will in place. Without the right planning in place, things can go terribly wrong and you have no control over where your hard-earned money ends up! Unnecessary pressures and burdens can drive families apart and this is something that nobody would really want.

So what do we want…here are some of the main reasons why we want you to plan properly for your family’s future:

your money goes where we want it to;
children are looked after and guardians (that you choose) are put in place if needed;
to make it as simple as possible during a time of grief for your family to deal with your estate and assets;
can reduce Tax complications ensuring that as much of your hard-earned money goes where, and to who, you want it to;
to give you piece of mind, knowing that your family is planned for, should the worst happen.
if you Google Wills, Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs), Funeral Plans or Probate, you’ll get a raft of very sombre looking pages, using stock photos of sad-looking elderly people or a dull video explaining why each is important. It’s depressing watching and reading through them and so no wonder the majority of people put it off, don’t act and fail to get the right measures in place.

We are very different here at TLC!!

We want people to feel relaxed talking about these subjects, understand the implications but know there are solutions and we always aim to put people at ease and answer any questions that they may have. Talking about the ‘Elephant in the room’ is so important to plan for your family’s future, that’s why we take a different spin on things!

We love making videos to explain our world (and get our personalities across!). YouTube is the second largest search engine and therefore more people are looking to video for information – we don’t want to miss this opportunity.

Most people don’t like thinking about, let alone answering, the question “Who will look after my children if I die before they turn 18?” That is where we decided to use Nursery Rhymes to explain the scenario in a way that, we hope, people can relate to.

So, what videos have we produced so far?

Jack & Jill

Possibly the most popular of all Nursery Rhymes.

In this short video, we explain:

what happens to your estate if there is no Will in place;
what happens to your estate, if you have a partner but are not married;
how a Will is used to carry out your wishes;
what happens if you remarry after the death of your former-spouse;
how a Will is void on marriage; and
how your children could receive nothing if not properly planned for.

Humpty Dumpty

Another classic Nursery Rhyme…with a twist.

We look at the loss of capacity and how a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) can really help. We look at some of the burdens and complications faced when there is no LPA is place and when there is no one that can act for you when you are unable to act for yourself due to a lack of capacity.

We explain:

how banks can freeze bank accounts if an account holder loses capacity;
how partners/family members have to find ways to pay bills, liabilities and maybe even healthcare on behalf of their loved one with no access to their accounts;
the different types of Lasting Power of Attorney;
the complications on deciding on healthcare; and
the authority to sell a loved one’s home.

Little old Women who lived in a shoe

This is the most delicate of subjects, talking about who we would want to be the Guardians of our children should we not be around.

In this video we explain:

what could happen to the children if your proposed guardians are not stated in a Will; and
how a simple Will could make life so much easier for your children and those you have left behind.

Although the videos are light hearted, this is done in a delicate way to ensure that we never sway away from how important our work is and, although we may make the videos fun, we are professional and knowledgeable within our field.

Neil Barras-Smith

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