Putting your legal affairs in good order will ensure that when you die your relatives have as little to do as possible and that your money and property is distributed in accordance with your wishes. It is also important to put arrangements in place for the management of your affairs during your lifetime should you reach a point where you can no longer manage things for yourself.
Creating a will is the obvious way to ensure that your money and property goes to the people you want it to and that you have someone lined up to take care of things after you have gone. There may also be issues related to your personal circumstances or those of your family that mean the creation of a trust should be considered or that your affairs should be organised to ensure you pay no more tax than you need to.
Creating a lasting power of attorney is an effective way to hand over control of your affairs to someone you know and trust during your lifetime. Thought should also be given to whether it may be sensible to create a separate business power of attorney to cover any commercial interests you may have.
Our private client lawyers are on hand to assist by helping you:
- create a will;
- draft a letter of wishes, to deal with things like funeral arrangements;
- prepare a lasting power of attorney for the management of your financial affairs and to cover decisions concerning your health and welfare;
- prepare a business power of attorney to cover the management of your business interests;
- create an advanced decision confirming whether you wish to receive life-sustaining treatment if you become seriously ill;
- apply to the Court of Protection for permission to deal with a loved one’s affairs where no power of attorney has been made;
- establish a trust to protect the inheritance of your children, spouse, partner or other beneficiaries;
- a conditional gift is one which the recipient will only receive if a certain condition is met.
- make decisions if you have been asked to act as a trustee for someone else;
- by acting as a professional trustee on your behalf;
- plan for the payment of care home fees and other long-term care costs, particularly for elderly clients;
- with tax planning to ensure your affairs are organised in the most tax efficient way possible;
- apply for a grant of probate to enable your money and property to be distributed in accordance with your will, or under the rules of intestacy where no will exists; and
- assist those appointed in your will, or under the rules of intestacy, in dealing with your affairs and winding up your estate.
We can also help with inheritance disputes, including those where the validity of a will is being challenged or where a disappointed relative or friend wants the terms of a will, or the rules of intestacy, to be varied under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 so they can receive a better inheritance.
Advising families throughout Gravesend, Kent and beyond
We have offices in Maidstone, Gravesend, Tonbridge, Chatham and Tenterden where we can meet you to discuss your requirements.
We can also offer meetings at your home, in hospital or in a care facility, and in exceptional circumstances a telephone appointment can be arranged via skype.
Funding
An initial appointment to discuss your requirements can be arranged from £150 plus VAT. After that we can agree funding arrangements to suit your budget.
Get in touch with our wills, trusts and probate solicitors in Gravesend, Kent
If you need assistance to put your legal affairs in order, please get in touch to see how we can help. You can call us on 01474 351199 or use our contact form and we will call you.