A Last Will & Testament is is probably the most important document you are ever likely to sign. It is paramount that the document has been drafted correctly and you receive the appropriate inheritance tax planning advice if you wish to protect your loved ones at the time of your death by benefiting them with your assets, whether those are situated in the UK or abroad.
A correctly drawn Will may save your Executors and Beneficiaries a substantial amount of Inheritance Tax. Whether your needs are simple, such as leaving your entire estate to your spouse or civil partner, or more complex, for example involving trusts for children, we are able to advise you upon a range of options.
We use our specialist legal knowledge to draft a Will that is clear and most importantly, tax efficient. We stress the importance of reviewing your Will on a regular basis to take into account a change in the law, or your financial and family circumstances.
If you have young children you should consider appointing guardians to take care of them if you die while they are still young. The appointment of guardians can be a component part of your Will and we always recommend that it is discussed with the nominated guardian beforehand.
There are many reasons that you may wish to set up a Trust for your assets and many important considerations when doing so to ensure how it will be controlled and administered. You might wish to set up a Trust during your lifetime or for one to be established upon your death.
Trusts are governed by complex legal regulations and specific tax regulations. Our team of experienced solicitors can discuss the options available to you and ensure that the correct solution is employed.
A complex area of tax law and an intrinsic aspect of Last Wills & Testaments requires an indepth understanding of the various facets of the regulations. The team at AWS can advise you on all aspects of inheritance tax issues arising in connection with Wills, Estate Planning, Trusts and Administering an Estate. This area extends to income tax and capital gains tax considerations and we are able to refer you to appropriate financial specialists in complex or urgent circumstances.
Where an individual has made a Will, it will usually indicate who will be responsible for administering the Estate: the Executor. On the other hand, if a person dies without a Will, known as ‘Intestate’, there are special rules as to who has the legal right to administer the Estate and benefit from it.
We are able to provide you with clear and straightforward advice and we aim to make the whole experience as stress-free as possible. We will assist you so that the Estate is administered efficiently and quickly, with the understanding that no Executor will wish for the administration period to last for any extended period of time.
If a person has died without a Will, we have the relevant experience in handling the complex intestacy provisions that govern the administration of the Estate.
This article looks at the status of the reforms announced so far around the sale of houses of a leasehold basis, ground rents in new leases, the fees payable by leaseholders for essential information needed on sale and the potential changes to the premium payable for a lease extension or freehold.
Earlier this summer Mark Loveday of Tanfield Chambers was successful in the Court of Appeal on a key point which could affect hundreds of thousands of existing shared ownership lessees and more in the future.
The case of Avon Ground Rents v Canary Gateway concerned the lessees of Canary Gateway and their lengthy attempt to take over the management of their building using the Right to Manage process. They started their claim in 2019 pre covid and several First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal decisions later found themselves in the Court of Appeal on this specific point.
The right to manage is simple in concept but unfortunately complex in its application as there are a lot of procedural hurdles that participating flat owners can fall at and this can lead to litigation as of course their landlord needs to be sure whether management will validly vest. Consequently there are a huge number of cases taken by landlords challenging the validity of claims which some might find surprising.
