Some Important Decisions

Making a Will is probably one of the most important decisions you will make during your life and probably the one thing most of us haven’t taken the time to arrange.

Dying without a Will means that the state will appoint people to deal with your Estate and it can take a long time to conclude.  The consequences of which may mean your husband/wife cannot obtain money to pay bills, your children are left without a guardian or the wrong people benefit.

So choosing to arrange a Will is creating an “insurance document which underpins a conversation made during your lifetime”.  But before speaking to an Independent Estate Planner there are some important decisions you will need to make; 

Your Executors – or sometimes known as Trustees as the hint is in the title.  Choosing someone you can Trust to wind up your Estate and make sure your wishes are followed.

A number of Solicitors will appoint themselves automatically as “professional executors” to assist in the process.  What is often not explained is this will create a further cost at the time the Will comes into play.

This is not necessary as most Estates can be administered by the lay person or where a professional service is required then there are a number of alternatives which can be chosen at the appropriate time.

At Lime Chocolate Consultancy we allow you to choose your own Executors and can assist with your decision making process.  We will not automatically appoint ourselves as we believe you should have freedom to decide.

Property – how you own your property will determine how it passes on first death.  If you own the property jointly under what is known as “Joint Tenancy” then your share will automatically pass to the survivor regardless of what your Will requests.  This is not always an issue but if you have concerns over Long Term Care costs or there is a potential Inheritance Tax issue then you would look to change this.  Our consultants can advise the best options for you and if required can arrange an “evacuation of survivorship clause”.

Appointing Guardians – if you have children under the age of 16 you will need to think about who you would want look after your children.

It may be helpful to make at least one guardian an executor of your Will also.  Guardians have certain rights and access to money to help towards the cost of brining up your children.

Gifts and Legacies – are there items of sentimental value or monetary value you want to be left to specific family or friends.  Or is there a sum of money you want to leave someone or charity?

Your funeral – are there any specific instructions or wishes you have.  It could be something simple as a choice between burial or creamation to choices of hymns, songs or which funeral director to use.

AND FINALLY, whatever you choose, it is personal to you and your choice.  An Independent Estate Planner can guide and help with your decision making but ultimately it is your final decision. You will need to speak to the people you wish to act as Executors and or guardians to make sure they are happy to be appointed.  And once your Will has been completed it is important your Executors know where it is stored.

That’s why we also offer free storage for the lifetime of the document, in a safe and secure bank vault and you and your executors will receive a document storage card with contact information for retrieval.

More details can be found at www.limechocolate.vpweb.co.uk

A step through time ….

Over the centuries Wills have been the cause of family feud, fraud and any number of crimes from forgery to murder!

The famous case of John Bodkin Adams GP is one where it is estimated he “murdered” over 160 patients over 10 years and benefited directly from the Wills of 132.  Was this a doctor with a great beside manner that made his patients want to make sure he benefited or something else?

Or more interestingly, only 18 months after the death of Michael Jackson, the family fall outs are beginning to happen over the estimated $275 million income generated in the first year after his death.  The person who stands to lose the most and the biggest antagonist is Joe Jackson. It is reported that Michael’s father, who is supposedly frozen out of his Will and will not benefit at all.

Years ago, Wills were simply deathbed statements made in confidence to the priest, which is ironic when you consider around this time the church also seemed to inherit a strangely large proportion of estates.

Eventually two witnesses were required to hear the statement and the position of the church was diluted.  However, verbal Wills, even when witnessed, were still open to abuse and argument, so it became compulsory for the detail to be written down and signed and witnessed. 

Today it is also a point of law that a witness cannot be included as a beneficiary to a Will.

Progress and changes to the law have helped tremendously but even with all the amendments and safeguards, Wills continue to be contested in the courts.

This can come about if a Will, maybe written some time ago, does not take into account things that have happened since, which might have caused the person to think differently.

For example, if the deceased could be brought back to life, would he or she have changed their Will to take these events into account?

This really drives home the point that it is important to review your Will on a regular basis, as life happens!

That’s why at Lime Chocolate Consultancy we not only take care to make sure your documents are correctly drafted and witnessed but we are the only company to offer a free annual review.

For more information visit us at www.limechocolate.vpweb.co.uk .

not my last will and testament

because I couldn’t be bothered, I leave 

To my family: I hereby leave you all months, possibly years of financial hardship and expense to sort out my affairs (because without a Will it can take up to 18 months for an estate to be wound up) To my spouse: I hereby leave you some – but maybe not all – of everything I own (your spouse only has a right of the family home up to £300,000, and cash of £42,000) To my children: I hereby leave you the remainder of my estate and give you the authority to enforce the sale of any part of it – including the family home – to realise your inheritance (if the house is worth more than £300,000, children have the right to force a sale) To Social Services: If my children are orphaned I give you the authority of guardianship and the power to choose who shall look after them (if a catastrophic event occurs, you may think family members would look after your children – think again!) To the Tax Man: I hereby leave you all the tax that I could have avoided and given the money instead to my family  (if you exceed your personal tax allowance of £325,000 for Inheritance Tax Purpose, 40% of your personal wealth above this will got the HMRC) Yours lovingly

ESTATE PLANNING IS VERY MUCH A PART OF LIVING AND IS DESIGNED TO ENSURE THE ABOVE CAN BE AVOIDED.

A WILL IS YOUR INSURANCE DOCUMENT WHICH UNDER PINS A CONVERSATION, ON WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN, IT IS NOT ABOUT DYING.

LIME CHOCOLATE CONSULTANCY ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT EDUCATING YOU ON HOW TO AVOID THE UNECCESARY AND ENSURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT “EXIT” STRATEGY IN PLACE.

www.limechocolate.vpweb.co.uk

Who Will Look After Your Children?

Parents of young children never want to think about what would happen if they were to die and leave their children orphaned.

But it is an important conversation to have as the assumption that family members will look after your children is wrong.  Plus if the parents are not married then who has automatic Parental Responsibility?

The natural biological mother always has automatic parental responsibility for her children.  As a result she can appoint guardians for the children if the father does not have the right.

But why would the father not gain this automatically?  If he was not married to the mother and never marries then a natural father never gains this right.  It is only achieved automatically if he was married to the mother at the point of conception, now there’s something they don’t tell you at ante natal classes!!

If he marries after the birth then he achieves “de facto” responsibility or he can apply for a Parental Responsibility Order.

But what does this mean and should a couple really have to marry just to protect potential guardianship of their children.

Well let’s take a scenario. 

Mr Wilson is divorced and living with a new partner, Miss Jones.  He has one child from his first marriage and she has three children from her first marriage who live with the couple.  Plus they have a young baby and are not married.

If Miss Jones were to die prematurely then who looks after the children.  Clearly the three children from Miss Jones first marriage would revert to their natural father.  Mr Wilson’s child from his first marriage it not an issue but who is left holding the baby? 

Under the above point of law and without Miss Jones having a Will, then the child would initially become a ward of the court until such time as social services can determine who should care for her.  If the relationship between Mr Wilson and his partners’ parents was estranged then potentially you have a custody issue.

This, of course, can be avoided very simply by the creation of simple mirror Wills.

Each other are appointed Guardians which demonstrates that even the small things in life need to be protected by through proper planning.

So remember for effective independent Estate Planning contact www.limechocolate.vpweb.co.uk

Indirect taxation of the elderly

 Over 20,000 pensioners were forced to sell their homes to pay for residential care last year according to figures released last week.

This means an average of nearly 60 elderly people a day had to sell up because they cannot afford expensive care home fees, the Daily Mail reports.

The number of people being forced to sell has also soared by 17% since 2005, the figures show.

Around 100,000 elderly people have sold up over the past five years to pay for care home bills with one in eight of all those who enter a home forced to sell up.

Pressure to sell is being blamed on the fact care home fees have soared by more than 20% over the past five years to an average of £25,896 per year. 

The position is only likely to be aggravated further over the next few years as local government budgets are squeezed tighter as part of cuts in spending. 

The point for me, however, runs much deeper than just the financial consequences, which don’t get me wrong are very important. But, how many of these people actually bought their homes under the former Tory governments’ drive of Right to Buy in the first place? 

Margaret Thatcher was so keen to make everyone a homeowner and as result have a legacy to leave to their family.  Now with changes to Long Term Care, not only are the families losing out, but in effect the government has raised income against the same person twice.

They gained when the house was bought and they gain a second time through a forced sale.  Is this not indirect taxation?

Morally wrong!!

Plus, you have to balance the quality of care that is being delivered and what I mean by this is … Private Nursing homes, follow regulation, they have to meet minimum standards of care, and from personal experience there are some really good care homes out there.

But is there any differentiation between the level of care given to someone who is paying themselves and someone that is state funded because they had no assets?

I remember my grandmother’s situation where this was exactly the case, Granny was paying £65 per day and shared a room with a lovely old lady who paid nothing!  They had both come from very similar backgrounds, the only difference being that my grandparents had decided to save all their life to buy a house. 

Of course, there are ways to avoid this but it is down to education and having the opportunity to explain to people how to create an appropriate Trust during their lifetime to ensure the house will still go to their family and not back to the state.

Read more: http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/cover/news/1895148/care-costs-force-sell-home#ixzz15LEwxAfu

The X-IT FACTOR

How often is it that I hear people say, I don’t want to think about arranging a Will, it’s morbid, or it makes them uncomfortable to think about the inevitable?

The reality is, for the majority of my clients, that taking advice and guidance on their Estate Planning needs is creating an “insurance document” which underpins a conversation.  It covers the “what if’s” which hopefully will not come into play early but ensures that “if they do” then the correct people benefit.

What I found really interesting a couple of weeks ago was catching Piers Morgan interviewing Cheryl Cole after the X factor.  Not for a minute did I expect the topic of arranging a Will to come up, especially not on a Saturday and not after the excitement of the show.  What surprised me further was the realisation how ill she had been and that only with a bit of luck and quick reactions she had survived! 

How different things may have been had her friend Derek Hough not acted so quickly. 

As she said to Piers Morgan, one of the last thoughts she had was “my god I don’t have a Will”.

Which led me to wonder who would benefit if Cheryl had died Intestate?

Married to Ashley in July 2006, the couple as we all know led a high profile lifestyle, enjoying the highs and lows of media attention.  The subsequent breakdown of the relationship led to tales of infidelity, separation and ultimately divorce.

But the divorce was not final until 3^rd September 2010 whilst news of Cheryl contracting Malaria was some 2 months earlier on 6^th July.  So in this situation the “what if’s” are very relevant.

Had Cheryl not survived her treatment and had passed away, then technically, they were still married and under the rights of succession, her “husband” would have automatic rights to part of her estate.  Is this what she would want?  I doubt it.

This leads me to conclude that none of us control or know when our X-it strategy will come into play. 

It only leaves us to ensure we prepare in advance so that “if” it is early that we have planned and guaranteed who will benefit and more importantly who will not!

Why your family have to know where your Will is stored

  Lost Wills Cause Heartbreak

The last wishes of soldiers killed in Afghanistan are not being honoured as the Ministry of Defence have lost their Wills, with heartbreaking consequences. Servicemen and women who wish to make a Will before they are deployed on active service are given the opportunity to fill in a Ministry of Defence Will form which is then placed in a sealed envelope.  After logging this with the individuals unit it is sent to Glasgow to a central document handling centre.

Corporal Rob Deering was killed by the Taliban in December 2008.  His fiancé is now battling to save the house they shared after the MoD lost a Will he produced just weeks before being deployed. While preparing to leave Corporal Deering was asked to produce the document twice after the first copy was lost. Now the second copy cannot be found so a previous Will made in 2006 is being used for probate. The earlier Will effectively leaves his share of the family home to his sister who is asking that it is sold.

Relationships with his family have broken down over the missing Will and his grieving fiancé is now taking legal action to delay the distribution of the estate to allow the MoD more time to find the missing document.  In a similar case the fiancé of Marine Neil Dunstan was left fighting for the home they bought together after his Will could not be found.   She later received an apology when it was found in a drawer.  The heartbreaking consequence of the Will being ‘lost’ was that she was not allowed to walk behind his coffin at the military funeral as there was nothing to prove she was his next of kin.  Since 2005 there have been 15 complaints regarding missing Wills andthey are currently searching for five missing Wills belonging to Marines killed in active duty.

The missing Wills have sparked calls for a full enquiry and one MP has accused the Government of ‘bureaucratic incompetence bordering on cruelty’ and failing in its duty to soldiers even after they have paid the ultimate sacrifice.  In the meantime Corporal Deering’s fiancé continues her battle to save their home. Reforms to the Inheritance(Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 recommended two years ago to include an avenue of claim for cohabitants might help her in her efforts but the Ministry of Justice say that any action will have to wait on Scotland to enact any changes.

modern day grave robbers

Confiscation proceedings were held last month to recover money from an NHS worker who fraudulently obtained money from deceased’s patients estates. The case shows the importance of making arrangements to protect your estate during your lifetime, and that fraud in probate extends far beyond the legal industry!

Yvette Adams worked as a bereavement advisor for the NHS who assisted grieving families and visited the homes of the deceased to search for a Will or other documents which would lead to the identity of any relatives.

During seven years she adopted a number of tactics for obtaining money including suggesting to grieving relatives that she could assist them by obtaining a Grant of Probate on their behalf. She also made fraudulent applications in relation to seven patients who had died intestate by forging apparent letters of authority from unknown distant relatives.

In one case she amended a Will to name herself as executor then proceeded to wind up
the £240,000 estate retaining all the funds for herself. It was only when a relative came forward some two years after a patients death that her activities were exposed and she
resigned. She also attempted to ‘pay off’ the relative by giving her a £100,000 payment.

While she was eventually caught and sentenced to five years in prison the process of recovering the stolen funds has been lengthy and the majority has been funded by the NHS Litigation Authority. This not only highlights the importance of having a Will in place but also having it stored somewhere secure and informing executors of its whereabouts so that it can be easily obtained by the correct people after death. In a lot of the cases surrounding this story the deceased had intended charities to benefit from their estate.

Appointing a professional executor and storing the Will with them is a good way of ensuring that a client’s final wishes are carried out. It is still vital to ensure that the client’s carers (or family and friends) are aware of the existence of the Will and that they know who to contact at the time of death.

Here Goes

If this works then a big thank you to Mark Amos …. it is now and only now that I am getting this whole social media mix and have the opportunity to tell everyone what I am passionate about.