Cougar, Solicitors seem to see this as the money making opportunity du Jour and many are charging unjustifiable prices.

We charge £400 to advise on and provide both documents or £600 for four documents for a couple. The Office of the Public Guardian charge an additional £82 per document for registration.

A local solicitor who sees himself as my competition charges £1980 for the four documents. When I asked him why he said his clients could afford it and he was making good money doing a couple of cases a month. At that point we were doing ten cases a week, he couldn’t see the logic of doing ‘all that work’.

Legal Services is just like anything else, you need to shop around until you find the right value for what you need. You can do it for free yourself or get some advice and peace of mind and pay a professional.

@binners I had the misfortune to go to Blackpool in October once before. Lockdown or not you couldn’t pay me enough to go back.

It looks like Cornwall is the winner, hotel, spa and a visit to the Eden project with some riding fitted in as well.

Fingers crossed for some decent weather.

We act professionally for a few people, it is quite onerous. We only ever act for Property and Financial Affairs, never for Health and Welfare.

When acting as an attorney you are bound by the Mental Capacity Act to act in the person’s best interest at all times, even if it conflicts with your own. You should to the best of your ability make decisions that have the least impact on the person and make decisions that are to the best of your knowledge closest to that they would have made for themselves. Ask yourself, do you know that person well enough?

What assets would they choose to sell first to pay for their care, which investments would they cash in.

How much does he give family members or friends for birthdays or Xmas and should you continue to do it if he has lost capacity? You can but should you.

When and how should you apply the test for capacity (there are two) to decide if he is able to make his own decision or if you need to make it for him. Just because he makes an unwise decision doesn’t mean he lacks capacity.

If they are asking for you to act for Health and Welfare ask yourself how would you respond to a consultant saying ‘Mr X has had a cardiac arrest, and is likely to have another one in the next 24 – 48 hours if he does should we treat him, should we try to resuscitate?’ It happened to me with my father in law – it’s a tough question to answer even when you have discussed it with the person in advance.

As I said, we get paid to act as attorney for people, but refuse most requests because we simply don’t know the client well enough.

You can’t get paid for being an attorney, unless you are acting as a professional (with Indemnity Insurance) or if there is a specific instruction in the power of attorney permitting it. I would only act for free for my Wife, my Mum and Dad or one of my children. Beyond that it would be a know.

Read the five principles of the mental capacity act, and brush up on the practical and functional tests for assessing capacity before you make a decision.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/section/1

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/section/3

If you want to find out more drop me a PM and we can arrange a chat.

Hope that helps.
Nick.

She has it in her head she wants an E-bike. I just don’t know where to start. Everything seems to be £3k minimum.

Has to be done

Red – that’s OK, matches my eyes.

We deal with Probate and this comes up quite often, where there is no expression of wishes from the deceased, or it is obviously out of date – following a divorce or similar – the pension trustees will write to the executors asking them for details of the family in order for them to make a decision. The executors then complete and return a form (hence the thank you for your correspondence) and the trustees base their decision on information that is given to them. The key word is discretionary. One set of trustees may choose to exercise their discretion differently to another neither is bound by anyone elses decision.

Hope that helps.

We went to Southwold in Suffolk for a long weekend about three weeks ago, took the bikes, pootled around it was lovely. Very relaxing and you can do the Adnams brewery tour too.

Starling for me too.

The probate is doable but correctly assenting a trust when there is a lifetime mortgage in place can be complex.

The cost quoted is a little high for doing the job, and a DIY guide for £1200 is insane.

If you need some advice I am happy to chat. My website is http://www.will-probate.co.uk call the office and they will fix up a time when we can talk.

Re the Inheritance Tax thing.

The estate is subject to UK inheritance tax so it has already been ‘Taxed’. It is just that it was taxed at 0% because it fell beneath the Inheritance Tax personal allowances. Therefore the Spanish won’t have any call on the money.

The difference between UK and Spanish (most European countries) Inheritance Tax is that in the UK the tax is levied on the estate before it goes to the beneficiaries, whereas in Spain the tax is levied on the beneficiaries.

Thanks for the opportunity. Anyone who looks at my post history will be able to figure out what I do and who I am, but for those who can’t be bothered here goes.

I am Nick Ash, Managing Director of Will & Probate Services – we will write your Will, sort out your Powers of Attorney and Deal with the admin if you are unfortunate enough to have a death in the family. I am more than happy to give some free intitial advice if you have a specific query.

I am working, not quite normally, by doing my initial client meetings by Zoom, Whatsapp, Messanger video conferences and if all else fails by telephone too.

You can find all our contact details on our website http://www.will-probate.co.uk and there is loads of information on our TV channel WAPS TV https://www.youtube.com/c/WillProbateServicesMarketDeeping

Did mine this morning for six staff that I have furloughed. It was quite time consuming to get all of the information together, but once you have that really easy.

Go to the CJRS calculator on the .gov website (I just googled it) calculate what you can claim for each employee – You need each employees NI category letter – make a note of the figures it gives you. Then log into the gateway and make your claim.

You need every employees name, NI Number, Payroll reference.
Your company UTR, PAYE Ref, Company Registration number and bank account details.
Log in with your PAYE user details.

If you have more than 100 furloughed employees it is a different process.

And Keep a note of the Claim Reference number as they don’t send you a confirmation e-mail. It comes up at the end with confirmation of the amount you have claimed.

Hi,

I am a probate lawyer. Most of what has been said so far is pretty much correct but some is based on out of date information.

The rules as to who will inherit are set out on the flowchart here https://www.theprobateservice.org/interstacy-rules-flowchart/ the people who will be inheriting are the people who will be entitled to administer the estate.

If the estate is small and the assets are bank accounts most banks will allow the administrators to sign an indemnity confirming that they will act in accordance with the law. Each bank and financial institution has their own limits. Lloyds is the highest at £50,000 National Savings and Investments are the lowest currently at £15,000 most of the others tend to be about £25k.

If the asset holders are happy with an indemnity then there is no need for a grant. A grant without a Will is called letters of administration, it is only probate if a Will exists.

If you need to get a grant then you will need to complete an IHT 205 form https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-return-of-estate-information-iht205-2011 and

A probate application form PA1A https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-probate-by-post-if-there-is-not-a-will

For small estates it is entirely manageable yourself. My guide to your duties can be downloaded here https://www.will-probate.co.uk/guide-to-being-an-executor-of-a-will/

I hope that helps.

Nick

Blatant plug, you can book a video consultation with me and I will give you bespoke advice and sort your will out for £ 99. http://www.will-probate.co.uk

Mods take this down if it is not allowed.

My STW subscriber number is 666

It was mine yesterday and my son’s today both have passed by without the usual fuss. We had planned on going out for a nice meal and a few beers (he is 23 and I’m 56) but it will have to wait.

Love the 7-11 key fob though.

What’s wrong with the national anthem. Ordinary little primary school in south Lincolnshire hand we sang God save the queen most days.

Just checked, my next subscription is due in 2 hours. Been here 12 years, mainly lurking, but never ever considered canceling. It’s a great place to be.

Had Pukka Chicken and Mushroom pie and chips for lunch. Very content and a little bloated at the moment.

I own a will company – http://www.will-probate.co.uk if you want to check us out – and I have a seat on the professional standards board of the Society of Will Writers where my brief is to deal with complaints against members.
There are lots of good reasons for using trusts in wills and the cost is not too much if there are trusts, land registry work etc involved in your parents case. For transparency we would charge £599 in a similar case.
The most recent change in the law that would have required some redrafting was in 2017 when the residential nil rate band came into force, meaning that some Wills that had discretionary trusts in them needed to be redrafted to ensure that the maximum relief from Inheritance Tax was being obtained. But that doesn’t sound like it is what was being done in your case.
The big alarm bell sounds with the don’t discuss this with your family line. It is the absolute opposite of what good advice should be. The more open you are about your end of life plans, the better the outcome for everyone when you pass away. We positively encourage family meetings where possible so that everyone is on the same page when it comes to the death of a parent.
I think that you are right to have some concerns, and if it were me I would be getting a copy off Mum and Dad just to see what has happened. If the company have named themselves as executors and trustees in the Will then I am afraid your parents have just written a blank cheque to the firm to administer the estate after their death.
If you can get a copy I would be happy to have a look FOC and let you know what has been done on their behalf. Just drop me a private message.
Sadly our industry is beset by issues with firms that are a bit iffy.

We do it regularly at work. It is a long, slow, pedantic process. You need to set aside around £2.5k for the initial costs. Annual costs are anywhere between £250 and £1000. Depending on level of supervision that the court deems necessary. Expect the whole process to take 6-9 months.

if you need more help email is in profile.

ABC – The Lexicon of Love
ABC – Lexicon of Love Part Two
and
Plan B – The Defamation of Strickland Banks
and whilst I am at it
Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

I hope England don’t come up short. There is a huge risk of a come down after yesterdays game and thinking that it is job done.

Today’s game could lead to some over confidence too.

On what I have seen so far we should beat SA but I fear we might not show up in the final.

My wife’s biggest regret is letting her MX5 go. They are fantastic for the type of trip you are planning.

I have some it’s good stuff, you might want to look at some of the less tailored Endura stuff too, in my opinion it just has the edge over Fat Lad.

I was browsing the threads and as soon as I saw this thread title – Suddenly I see by KT Tunstall popped into my head and I can’t get rid of it.

We do exactly what you’re proposing. 22yr old son on £22K. He pays £300 and we save half on his behalf. Works well and if we didn’t save for him there is little prospect that he would save it himself.

Been out had beer. Come home turned TV on, Killers are really good. Sometimes life is just that simple.

The law starts from an assumption of a 50:50 split of the assets of the marriage. Quite often the pensions of the parties can be the largest assets. More than the value of the property in some cases.
It is then down to the parties or their lawyers to move the presumption in any direction. As said earlier, this is done in the first instance by mediation these days and then if there is no agreement, in front of a judge.
Your friend should ask around for recommendations as to who the best divorce lawyer in town is and hire them ASAP. It will be worth the cost in the long run.

On BBC breakfast news this morning they reported that Network Rail executives were being encouraged to fly between meetings as it is cheaper than using the train.

If the online search says that it doesn’t have a record then chances are that it is unregistered land. Might be worth getting the paper copy.

I was diagnosed a year ago. Similar symptoms and background to you. Initially put on beta blockers but taken off when it exacerbated my naturally slow resting pulse. It was falling below 30 bpm overnight. So after 3 months beta blockers I had no treatment for the next nine months.

Fast forward to January this year and the AF restarted, Again mild and intermittent but this time I got referred to Papworth hospital. To stop any further progression of the AF they have decided that cardio ablation will be the best bet. So I am off to the hospital for a pre op CT scan tomorrow and an op the following week.

The specialist at the hospital has been great, very reassuring, says the ablation should fix things. If it reoccurs after that then a pacemaker is the answer.

Hope that helps a little.

Google forms will do what you want.

Band The Jam

Album ABC The lexicon of love

Song Stevie wonder Masterblaster

Aldi Melton Mowbray pork pie. From the specially selected range great value.

I do, and have written about 10,000 over the past thirteen years. The sad fact is that 2/3rds of people don’t, amongst the under 40’s 4/5 don’t have an up to date valid Will.

Get one done, it doesn’t cost the earth. Then keep it up to date.

Info here https://www.will-probate.co.uk/will-estate-planning-checklist/

I know a will writer called Lionel Deadman.

My dad, age 77 got a new Toyota Auris Hybrid last year. Easy to drive, he loves it. Everything is automatic, Lights, Wipers, Gearbox. He just points it where he wants to go and presses the go faster or go slower pedal as appropriate.

Highly recommended.

As I do this for a job I can safely say that the more obvious it is what you own and where it is then the less your family will pay in terms of cash, stress and time wasted to sort it out.

A valid Will is always better than an intestacy, so make a Will.

We advise everyone to do a what I have and where it is form – have a copy of ours for free – https://www.dropbox.com/s/rsvasdanyxcuujl/6_What_I_Have_and_Where_It_Is.pdf?dl=0

OH and talk to your family so they all know and understand what you want to happen when you die. Funeral plans etc.

That changes everything. Property is subject to the Lex Situs doctrine so any succession will be subject to Kenyan Law.

Beyond that, I can’t offer anything further. Sorry.