Estate Planning as a Career

Will Writing, When Is It Too Late?

I am indebted to my mother who drummed this line from the poet Edward Young into me ‘Procrastination is the thief of time’.

I recently appeared a recording of a tv show, where I was one of the guests talking about personal finance. No, I did not get half an hour on prime time on the Beeb, more’s the pity, I didn’t get paid, well not enough for me to give up my day job.

While one would generally have an idea with these things, the sorts of questions that one would be asked, with the view of being able to fashion a reasonable – and with any luck a perfect response – after all since one is not before Mr J Paxman, the aim of the game is not to stump your guest. A question came up for which I was not fully prepared – at least not to articulate the response for the reasons Mr Poirot would describe as ‘most complete’.

The answer comes in 3 parts, and most solicitors and legal executives abide by the first and most obvious – its a lot of hassle, and very expensive for the client, generally its not something we like to do – although better late than never.

The question was ‘When is it too late to make a will – apart from when one is dead of course?’

The answer, as I alluded to earlier had always be internalised, but now comes time to articulate it.

Around the middle of the second term, most economics students would learn about money, and one line drummed through the ages is that ‘money has no intrinsic value’ – it has no use in its own – it is only useful for what we can do with it. In this respect, a will, or more correctly a last will and testament is of little value by itself – a will is of value for what it can do – so if we left the important issue of minor children for now, the main point of a will is to give the things one owns to the important people in one’s life.

The things in your life to the people in your life. 11 words that could go towards enhancing one’s family’s financial and social status for generations to come. One of the benefits of a will is that is the foundation of inheritance tax planning. Most people in a bout of unwarranted modesty believe inheritance tax is not a problem with which they would have to contend. The sooner on started this business of estate planning, the greater would be the scope for keeping one’s wealth in the family rather than it burn in care home fees or inheritance tax. In our experience families save hundreds of thousands of pounds inheritance tax by simply planning early.

No far thinking legal practitioner wants to write a will against which a successful challenge would be brought. A trawl of contentious probate cases highlight the fact that cases more often than not tend to have one of two characteristics the first being that the document was a forgery or the testator was not of sound mind the second class being that the testator failed to receive proper professional advice in laying out his or her wishes. It is the first class that is our concern here. Those who have worked with the seriously ill or dying report that those who are near death might be fearful or confused, as such it might be easy to influence them (one reason hospitals and care homes are reluctant to get their personnel involved in anything that has the semblance of a will). Hardly a surprise if a will made in such circumstances is subject to challenge.

Having made a will earlier gives the scope to lay a ‘paper trail’ so that any changes in the will are well documented and would reasonable in light of the changing circumstances of the testator’s life.

While better late than never, the sooner one gets round to writing a will thus determining the extent of estate planning required, the easier, cheaper and more thoroughly the aims of the will can be accomplished.

To paraphrase Edward Young, procrastination can be the thief of your family’s wealth.

Maximum Inheritance – over 20 years experience as an estate planner. Specialist in Wills, trusts and inheritance tax planning.

Surrey Will Writers
Our passion is helping you secure the maximum inheritance possible for your loved ones with the minimum of expense; hassle; family argument and interference from outsiders including the taxman!

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Spendthrift Agreement Trusts

Between wills and trusts, each document can address different concerns that may be held by the head of an estate. Trusts, which are usually more popular with those who have more property to divide, offer a peculiar kind of clause to settlors. Spendthrift agreements are available to those drawing up trusts who wish to limit the power of the beneficiary over their expected property. As trust beneficiaries can be children or those who have a history of being unable to control their spending, these agreements are important provisions for certain settlors to keep in mind.

The process of establishing a spendthrift agreement in a trust begins with contacting a probate attorney to draw up the proper documentation. As the right details are necessary to determine how a spendthrift beneficiary can receive their property eventually, these trusts are drawn up under the guidelines of inter vivos trusts. Inter vivos trusts apply certain rules and limitations due to fact that, unlike most probate documents, the settlor is still alive at the time of the exchange.

After establishing the earliest parameters of the trust, the settlor then must select a trustee to work through in order to protect his estate. This person will be responsible for dealing with the settlor’s funds in case of death or incapacitation. In addition, this person will be responsible to legally protect the estate in case of a legal challenge from a beneficiary or creditor.

Finally, the trust can be finalized. Beneficiaries, either through age or fiscal maturity, will have to prove their ability to live up to the grounds of the spendthrift agreement in order to access their proper inheritance. If you would like to learn more about spendthrift agreements, trust specifics, and how a legal adviser can simplify this complex field of law, contact a wills and trusts attorney.

If you or someone you know is facing a problem with their estate, contact the Houston wills and trusts attorneys of Garg & Associates, P.C. today.

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5 Myths of Will Writing and Estate Planning

There are many and varied myths of wills and will writing – here are my top 5.

1. My spouse would get everything – therefore there is no need to write a will. Dying without a will [or a valid] will means that one has died intestate. Dying intestate means that the deceased has given up the right to decide whom the beneficiaries of his or her wealth are and ceded that power to the state – which would divide the deceased’s estate according to the laws of intestacy – this could mean if your spouse died, you could be sharing the estate with some of the extended family of whom you were never very fond.

2. My common law spouse would get the protection afforded married couples – the point above, the spouse gets some but not necessarily all of the estate. There is no such thing in law as a common law spouse. So, if the person with whom you’ve lived for any length of time dies without a will, you stand to get nothing from the estate. Writing a will with your partner prevents the loss assets you could have expected to inherit

3. Inheritance tax is a problem for the rich. Most people have assets in excess of the inheritance tax threshold. A bit of planning, and the figures come to light. In our experience we come across people who for want of an hour or so and a few hundred pounds in fees end up paying thousands, tens of thousands in inheritance tax. In certain cases, the family home has had to be sold to settle the inheritance tax bill.

4. It would be tempting fate. While we all have our beliefs and superstitions there is no correlation between writing a will and death occurring. On the contrary not writing a will is to tempt fate by risking intestacy with all expense and hassle involved.

5. My affairs are so simple I do not require professional help. In over 20 years of my involvement in writing and drafting wills. I have met only one person who did not require help. He was a disabled gentleman who had so little he there was barely enough in his estate for a funeral. He got a cheque for a refund of his fee with his will.

In simple terms, wills prevent intestacy. While they are grieving your demise, the extra hassle expense and possibly bad feeling arising from having to second guess your wishes is on they could do without.

Ade is an estate planner and can be found at http://inherits.info. You may get expert advice on the best way to set out your wishes in a foolproof manner

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