A client told me about a situation some friends are in. It would appear, it is not totally unique, and talking to others, the situation may be on the increase. I have listed below some of the common characteristics: Couple (Man and Woman) typically aged 40 may be married or not. Have recently bought a house together on a mortgage and set up home. Typically have young children. The ch...

Inheritance tax has been described as a voluntary tax. It is true if you are wealthy, and you give your assets away, well in advance of dying, you might be able to avoid it. Sadly, many of us don’t give it a thought until it is too late, and tax is payable on our death. So what should you do? Firstly, count up all your assets. If necessary, obtain valuations, if one hasn’t been done for som...

That is a good question. Surely, you must have better things to spend your money on! If you have plenty of money, and close family, you might think they can sort everything out after your day. It is helpful if your family know what you would want, and details may be given in a Will or separate letter of wishes. For most of us, it is not a subject we like to talk about, so it can be overlooked. ...

Although “Lasting Powers of Attorneys” have been around for 12 years now, there are still lots of people with the older “Enduring Powers of Attorneys”. Questions can arise about these, and the differences between the two documents. The Enduring Power of Attorney is a fairly simple document, which enables you to appoint your Attorneys, in case you lose mental capacity. It only relates to finance...

When it comes to Wills, it gets more complicated when children are put up for adoption, or adopted by a new parent. A further complication is the situation where there is no Will, and we need to consider what the law says. When a child is given for adoption, any legal rights the child would have had from their birth parent are cancelled. Having said that, there is nothing to stop the birth pare...