Wills and Probate – advice from Phillips Solicitors in Basingstoke, Hampshire
We can never be sure what the future holds but we can each take steps to anticipate and manage life’s changes.
At Phillips we have been helping individual clients to manage their family affairs and advising them on all aspects of wills, trusts and related matters for many years. Our clients come from all walks of life and each has the personal attention of one of our private client team – someone who will give them expert advice, no matter how sensitive the problem may be.
- Wills
- Administration of estates
- Lasting Powers of Attorney
- Living Wills
- Elderly client affairs
- Inheritance Tax
Before we meet
Clients often ask what they should bring to their first meeting with us. We want to reassure you that the most important thing is to bring yourselves and not to worry. However, we do need to gather quite a lot of information about your case and so it can be helpful if you come armed with some essential information – then we can make sure that the time we spend together is most productive for you.
Click here to see what sort of information you'll need to bring to our first meeting.
Whether single, married or a parent, Wills are a key element in estate planning and, without one, you are unable to control what happens to your assets after death. You may leave your dependants with numerous problems, including an unmanageable tax burden; and yet the Law Society reports that two out of three people have not made a Will.
Without a Will, the law will determine how your estate will be distributed, so your family, friends and favourite charities may not receive what they need or expect. We can help you to make the correct provisions and ensure that your wishes are carried out:
- Draw up your Will, making provision for all the people important to you
- Ensure that your wishes are carried out and that you fully understand the draft
- Advise on Inheritance Tax to minimise your tax liabilities
- Advise on your assets to ensure wealth protection
- Arrange signing of your Will and retain it for safe–keeping
We can now register your Will with the first online register of Wills, called Certainty, which means that your loved ones will be able to find out which solicitor holds your Will, should they not know when the time comes to find it. Read more about Certainty on our news pages.
Administration of estates
This service involves dealing with your affairs after death. The ‘estate’ is your property and any other assets you have. Our probate specialists handle the winding up of your estate with great sensitivity and understanding, and help your family and friends through what can be a very confusing and upsetting time.
Administration involves:
- Ascertaining the assets and liabilities and preparing the necessary tax forms
- Obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, enabling the Personal Representative to obtain the assets
- Settling the liabilities of the estate, including all tax liabilities
- Distributing the estate in accordance with the terms of the Will. If there is no Will then the estate is distributed according to the statutory rules.
We may be able to minimise the tax liabilities on the estate of the deceased and those of the beneficiaries by careful tax planning. This may involve Deeds of Variation or Family Arrangement.
On occasions there may be disputes between beneficiaries, executors or those who want to make a claim against an estate – we can advise in these circumstances.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
Managing your affairs in later life can become more difficult and it is wise to nominate someone whom you trust to look after your affairs, should the time come when you become mentally or physically incapacitated.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) (which replaces the Enduring Power of Attorney) enables you to choose who you would like to manage your property, financial and general affairs should you become unable to manage them yourself, and gives that person the measure of power that you define. Your choice of Attorney can be altered at any time, but comes into play either when you choose or when your mental health declines (subject to certain safeguards imposed by the Court of Protection).
The new LPAs can extend beyond dealing with your financial affairs to personal welfare matters and decisions, if you so wish. You will also be able to place restrictions on what exactly your Attorney can deal with, such as property or restricting medical decisions. But probably the most significant change is the requirement that LPAs must be registered with the Court of Protection before your Attorneys can act and this may take up to 5 weeks. Your Attorneys will have the power to decide on issues such as where you will live, your care and medical treatment. They may also give or refuse consent to the carrying out or continuation of medical treatment, according to your wishes, although they cannot act if you are still capable of making those decisions for yourself.
We can advise you on:
- The choice of Attorney or joint Attorneys
- The level of signature or authority that is appropriate
- Restrictions that you would like to impose
- The duties of Attorneys
Living Wills
Living Wills, also known as Advance Directives, are usually concerned with medical discretion and they give you the freedom to define medical care issues that you feel strongly about. This means that in the unfortunate event of terminal illness, where you might be incapable of communicating your wishes, your Living Will would be able to state your preferences in cases such as turning the life support machine off.
Living Wills are subject to much debate, as a patient’s wishes sometimes conflict with those of the medical profession. We can advise you about the latest legal situations.