We know that clients often have many questions when creating Wills, Trusts or Powers of Attorney.

Everyone should make a Will as part of their long-term planning. Even if you consider the value of your assets to be relatively small it will still be important to you to choose your own beneficiaries and ensure that your wishes are carried out.

If you die without making a Will the distribution of your estate is determined by the rules of intestacy and your assets may not go to the people whom you assume will inherit. There have been recent changes to the intestacy rules making it even more important to take professional advice also it can often be more expensive to administer an estate when the deceased has not left a Will.

We pride ourselves on making the process as personal and straightforward as possible while providing professional help. To give you peace of mind, we will discuss every relevant aspect with you, for example:

• Inheritance tax planning
• The distribution of personal and business assets
• Guardianship appointments for young children
• Your funeral wishes

Samantha Lloyd and Amanda Piper are members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), an advanced and respected estate planning qualification.

We incorporate the STEP Standard Provisions in all our new Wills. These contain useful provisions that may be needed when administering an estate or running a trust. In order to prevent the Will from being overcrowded with technical terms, each Will refers to the STEP Standard Provisions. More details can be found on the STEP website.

For advice on Wills, please contact us.

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Trusts are a very useful tool whether made during a lifetime or in a will to come into effect after death. They can be used to protect your assets for future generations of your family. The makeup of families today can be complicated with second marriages and step-families.

Trusts can be used to ring-fence assets for the benefit of the family members you want to ensure benefit from your estate in the future. Trust law can be complicated especially in relation to the taxation consequences of setting up a trust. Our dedicated team can help to guide you through these processes.

For advice on Trusts, please contact us.

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Powers of attorney enable you to appoint someone to deal with your personal and financial affairs when you cannot manage them yourself. This may be due to failing health, an accident or loss of mental capacity. A power of attorney allows family members or close personal friends, who you have personally chosen, to have the authority to deal with your affairs for you.

You can put in place powers of attorney relating to your personal finances, health and welfare, thus allowing you to influence who should help you and how matters should be run when you no longer have the mental capacity to make day-to-day decisions.

We are finding that the need for powers of attorney is certainly increasing and this is an important way of planning for the future. Our team is highly experienced in dealing with powers of attorney and can guide you through the process of putting these invaluable documents in place.

For advice on Powers of Attorney, please contact us.

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Dealing with the loss of a loved one is one of the most upsetting and difficult things you will go through. The situation can be exacerbated if you feel the Will has not appropriately provided for you, or someone close to you, or if the person dealing with the Estate is not doing so as they should.

Our team will support you through this upsetting time, advising you of your options and will work with you to resolve matters as quickly as possible at this difficult time.

For advice on contentious probate disputes, please contact us.

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