DJ Wills & Estate Planning Ltd

13/04/2024

So when is the best time to consider making a will and powers of attorney. Simple, its right now, you can never be early but you can be too late.

So don't delay, contact me now to discuss your wishes.

[email protected]

See you soon

19/12/2021

Wills for four clients ready to be signed tomorrow. If you would like to join these people, and ensure that your estate is protected and goes to those you want to benefit when you have gone, then don't delay message me today and let's start the conversation.

03/03/2021

Just to help you find us, some new window stickers at our office. Visit the web site www.dj-wills.co.uk ,drop me an email at [email protected] or call me on 07786914849 to discuss protecting your estate.

25/01/2021

Well its 2021, has much changed? not much you say..... well in some ways you are right the crisis is still ongoing, we are in another lockdown, but there are green shoots of hope starting to appear, vaccines are being rolled out, infection rates are starting to reduce and more importantly so are the death rates. It will take time, but I know we will come through this.

We will be closer to each other and more understanding of those who are on their own and need the support of others. We will look at our families with a greater sense of understanding, patience and love for one other, we will value our family's more and enjoy spending more time together.

It is now time to start thinking of the future, think about protecting your estate so that the people you want to benefit from it, do. Think about protecting your home and other assets from possible future care costs and potential Inheritance Tax, to name a few possible risks to your hard-earned estate.

Think about putting 'Lasting Powers of Attorney' in place so that you can act for a loved one when they cannot act for themselves. If an 'LPA' is not in place then other people will make decisions for your loved one, their decision may not be one that your family member would have made for them self...... think about it who knows your family member best you or a stranger.

Don't delay, don't put things off until tomorrow..... tomorrow may be too late.

Visit www.dj-wills.co.uk to find out more about the various options and solutions available to help protect your estate.

14/12/2020

From the team at DJ Wills & Estate Planning, Have a very happy Christmas and all the very best for 2021

www.dj-wills.co.uk

01/12/2020

Another family not only having to deal with the loss of a parent or close family member but also having to deal with being cut out of an inheritance. Sadly this is an all to regular occurance but so easily avoided.

A will was created, in this case a mirror will, where the estate would be left absolutely to the surviving spouce, maybe some gifts were left to specified family members, but the bulk of the estate would pass to the other, surviving spouse. On this occassion it was left to his wife from his second marriage. As the wife inherits the estate, she has been able to rewrite her will removing the husbands children from his first marriage from any future inheritance from their fathers estate. So they get nothing.

This is one of the threats to the estate that i mentioned as part of a previous post looking at the 5 risks to an estate.

This could have been avoided by creating trusts within the will and having trustees who are willing and able to carry out your wishes when you are no longer here. Having a trust will ensure that those loved ones, you want to benefit from your estate will benefit and then their children (your grand children) will also benefit in the future.

If this threat to your estate is a concern to you, then contact us to discuss your fears and we can look at solutions to keep your estate protected for your loved ones.

Visit www.dj-wills.co.uk for more information.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dad-wanted-us-to-inherit-300k-all-we-got-was-his-old-tie-bqwrmcp39

Roger Jones had been at pains to ensure that his four children from his first marriage would get an equal share of the family wealth when he died. When the hospital consultant from Anglesey wrote his

26/11/2020

Well I'm pleased to say that www.dj-wills.co.uk is now fully up and running. Take look tell us what you think

If you want to make sure there's no ambiguity of your wishes when you're no longer here to prevent your estate going to the wrong people - sort the paperwork whilst you can - via this man! He's excellent. Very knowledgeable and efficient - you are in safe hands!

26/11/2020

Lasting Power of Attorney and why it is important

Few of us want to think that we might lose our mental capacity as we get older, but it is an important issue to consider and to plan ways to reduce the potential burden on relatives should this happen. As the population ages the likelihood of an older person experiencing dementia increases. Those experiencing dementia over the age of 65 is set to increase by one million by 2025 according to the Alzheimer’s Society so it is important to put in place contingencies in the event that you cannot cope with everyday financial matters or your own care needs.

One of the approaches is to create a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). This is a legal tool which will give someone you trust the legal powers to act on your behalf should you lose mental capacity. The important thing is to put this in place whilst you are still well and have mental capacity. To create this after loss of mental capacity involves relatives in long delays and expense in applying to The Court of Protection to get access and take control of assets and finances, for example if a property needs to be sold to cover care costs.

There are two types of LPAs, one covering financial and property matters and the other health and welfare matters. You can choose to make one type or both. You will need to choose an attorney (you can have more than one) who you trust and who can act for you.

25/11/2020

Some thing to consider....
Have you worked hard to build an estate that you are proud of?
Do you want certain people you love to benefit from that estate?
Do you want to make those decisions?
Do you not want people you may have lost contact with, or relatives that you may not get on with, or see, to benefit from your estate?
If you have answered YES to one or more of those questions, then you need a Will, if you don't others will make those decisions for you. Give us a call to discuss your wishes and visit www.dj-wills.co.uk for more information.

24/11/2020

So if you don't have a Will and Trusts within the Will what are the 5 risks to your estate?

1. Marriage After Death (MAD)

Following first death all of your combined assets are then
solely owned by the surviving spouse or partner. What
if the surviving spouse or partner remarries? The entire
combined estate passes to the new spouse, potentially
disinheriting your children and grandchildren.

2. Creditors or Bankruptcy

If the surviving spouse or partner were to be subject to
creditor claims or bankruptcy, then the entire combined
estate could be at risk.

3. Divorce

If your children or other chosen beneficiaries are subject
to divorce proceedings, part of what you intended them
to receive is at risk from a divorce settlement.

4. Generational Inheritance Tax IHT

Following second death your remaining assets are likely
to be directed by the Will (or via intestacy) to your
children or other chosen beneficiaries. This then adds
to the beneficiaries’ estates and could impact on their
own IHT.

5. Care Costs

Should your surviving spouse or partner need care, your
entire combined estate, including the family home,
could be assessed to pay for the cost of that care.

Having a well written Will with appropriate Trusts written in to that Will can help protect your estate from attacks by the five risks mentioned above.