Our ‘core products’ (in BLUE type) are the minimum every adult person should consider. They provide a good foundation on which to build, putting these core products in place would ensure your wishes are carried out and make things much easier for your loved ones.

Our ‘asset protection products’ (in GOLD type) keep assets safe for your beneficiaries from unforeseen future circumstances and unwanted creditors.

CORE PRODUCTS

BASIC WILL

Basic wills are legal documents that stipulate who your assets go to after you die and who deals with them.

If you die without a will it is not guaranteed that your spouse or civil partner will get everything. If you are an unmarried couple you may get absolutely nothing if your partner dies with no will in place.

If you have children under the age of 18 you can nominate legal guardians in your will to take control of parental matters, and state who should look after the children’s money until they reach adulthood.

LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY (LPA)

There are two types of LPA, you can take out either or both:

LPA FOR PROPERTY & FINANCIAL AFFAIRS

This document authorises someone of your choice to make decisions about your property, money and all other financial matters and manage them for you in the future if you become unable to yourself.

This authority does not have to be restricted to loss of mental capacity; it could also be used either temporarily or permanently during times of illness, for example if you were to be in an accident or have a stroke.

Without a registered LPA in place it would not be possible for your spouse/partner/family to deal with your property or any bank accounts or investments you have, even if it is in joint names, unless they made an application through the court which is both lengthy and costly.

LPA FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE

If you lose the ability to communicate for yourself this type of LPA authorises your attorney(s) to make decisions for you regarding your health and welfare, such as discussing your medication requirements with your GP or dealing with healthcare professionals.

You can give your attorney(s) the authority to give or refuse consent to life-sustaining treatment on your behalf if you so choose.

ASSET PROTECTION PRODUCTS

The word WILLSAFE™ bears a registered trademark and is our unique term for a will containing a trust. A trust is, after all, very much like a safe in that it holds money securely and prevents outsiders from getting in. In many cases our WILLSAFE™ products offer protection against:

 

  • losing your home to fund care home fees
  • probate fees
  • children inheriting at the wrong time
  • generational inheritance tax
  • unwanted claims on your estate

PROPERTY WILLSAFE™

(a will containing a trust to protect your property)

If following your death your property had to be sold to fund your spouse/partner’s long-term care fees, your share of the proceeds of sale of the house will remain protected by the PROPERTY WILLSAFE™ for your children and will NOT have to be given up to the local authority.

FAMILY WILLSAFE™

(a will containing a trust to protect your family’s inheritance)

If any of your beneficiaries are experiencing financial difficulties after you have died, for example if one of your children is having to settle with their ex-spouse in a divorce settlement, or if they have any other financial creditor demanding money from them, then their inheritance can be retained by your trustees in the FAMILY WILLSAFE™ until those issues have been resolved, otherwise they could lose some or all of it.

This product also works particularly well for any beneficiaries on means-tested benefits. If you only had a basic will their money would have to be paid directly to them, which means they could lose their benefits as they would have too much in the bank. But with their inheritance protected in a FAMILY WILLSAFE™ they will be able to keep their benefits AND draw down from it when it suits them.

COMPLETE WILLSAFE™

(a will containing two trusts, one to protect your property, the other to protect your family’s inheritance)

This combines all the benefits of the PROPERTY WILLSAFE™ and the FAMILY WILLSAFE™ as described above. The COMPLETE WILLSAFE™ can protect both property and savings and ensure your beneficiaries won’t lose their inheritance to any creditors of their own. It can also offset the effect of ‘generational inheritance tax’ which could save many thousands of pounds for future generations of your family.

PLATINUM PROTECTION TRUST

Unlike our WILLSAFE™ products described above, this is not a trust written in your will that comes into force following your death, instead it is set up during your lifetime and is immediately active. There are many benefits to this type of trust, one of which is that any assets held in it will not be subject to probate procedure after you have died.

Whether you have a will or not following a death executors have to apply for a grant of probate to enable them to sell or transfer your house. It often takes several months for probate to be granted, and if your executors choose to use solicitors to deal with the estate it is possible they could end up with a bill of several thousands of pounds too. If your house is protected in a PLATINUM PROTECTION TRUST those fees and delays will be avoided.

There are so many more benefits provided by the PLATINUM PROTECTION TRUST, the extent of these depends very much on your own individual circumstances. If you would like to find out more we should have a discussion first so we can then tailor our advice to explain how the PLATINUM PROTECTION TRUST would benefit you and your loved ones.

OTHER SERVICES

WILL STORAGE (OPTIONAL)

  • As there is no central register for wills it is important they are kept safely and end up in the right hands. If your will is stored with us we will insist on seeing a death certificate and proof of identification from your executor(s) before releasing it. 
  • All documents stored with us are insured and we make physical copies for you to keep at home. We also write to your executors individually either by letter or email to provide our contact details and information about how to gain access to documents following your death.
  • You will receive a letter or email from us every year reminding you to check the copy of your will in case changes need to be made.