The new year is a great time to plan for your future. We go through the top legal resolutions that you should set in 2023.
Have you got a Will?
Fewer than 4 in 10 UK adults have a Will despite owning a property. If you die without a Will, there are certain rules which dictate how the money, property or possessions should be allocated. This may not be the way that you would have wished your money and possessions to be distributed.
Is your Will more than five years old?
There can be many complications if you don’t have a current Will. Have you had grandchildren since you signed your last Will? Or perhaps other beneficiaries are no longer up to date, time to update your Will.
Is your Will up to date from an inheritance tax point of view?
If your Will was signed prior to 2007, chances are it contains a nil rate band discretionary trust. Whilst trusts of this sort can still be relevant, the rules were relaxed allowing automatic transfer and you might want to simplify your Will.
Do you need to plan for inheritance tax?
IHT is currently applied to estates worth more than £325,000, When the value of your estate exceeds the limit, known as the ‘nil-rate band’, everything over the threshold is taxed at 40% (unless you’re leaving it to your surviving spouse, in which case no IHT needs to be paid).
Have you put a Lasting Power of Attorney in place?
There are LPAs for property and finance decisions and, separately, for health and welfare decisions. It comes into effect if you lose mental capacity, or if you no longer want to make decisions for yourself. If you’re married or in a civil partnership, you may have assumed that your spouse would automatically be able to deal with your bank account and pensions, and make decisions about your healthcare, if you lose the ability to do so. This is not the case. Without an LPA, they won’t have the authority.
How we can help
To find out how we can prepare your Will to protect your wishes, please contact our team on our dedicated Wills, Probate and Planning for the Future helpline on 0161 694 4142 for your free initial telephone discussion. If you prefer, you can fill in our online form or alternatively, you can email us on bromleys@bromleys.co.uk and we’ll call you back.