20 March 2019

Do you need a financial healthcheck?

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Daniel McCloud Chartered Legal Executive

There is a time in our lives when our attention turns to what we can do to secure a future for the next generation.

Wills, of course, are a necessity at any age and if you do not have an up-to-date one, then please seek good legal advice to ensure you do.

However, there are other steps that you can take to afford significant benefits and security for your family. Let us take one example, and in doing so, ask you to consider your options, especially if you have retired or are considering doing so.

Earlier this year, the Government announced an increase to the administrative costs that surviving relatives will need to pay to have probate granted. From April, bereaved families will need as much as £6,000 for this service. The cost, which currently sits at a flat £215, will increase on an upward scale with the wealthiest estates paying most.

So, what does this mean and why should this announcement prompt action, and your attention? Quite simply, it should set minds thinking about the necessary arrangements required to ensure your affairs are in order.

  • If the Government is increasing the charges and you have significant assets, is there something that you can do now to assist your family? For example, there may be cases whereby the assets of an individual cannot be released until probate is received – and there is no money to fund these costs.

  • Have you received the best advice, given your individual circumstances, on how your assets are passed on now or in the future, and how do such arrangements affect the funding of any future care you may require?

  • Have you considered Lasting Powers of Attorney, (LPAs), to ensure that such decisions can be sorted on your behalf, if you are unable to so, by people you trust?

  • What about your business interests as sole trader, partnerships or in companies? Are you certain that your business and loved ones will be protected?

With the above in mind, is the start of 2019 a time to give yourself a financial health check when it comes to your assets and affairs?

For more information and advice in any area of Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, inheritance tax and the administration of estates, please contact Daniel McCloud on 01482 398398, email daniel.mccloud@wilkinchapman.co.uk or visit wilkinchapman.co.uk

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