Advance Decisions and Statements

Often known as ‘living wills’, Advance Decisions and Advance Statements allow you to set out your wishes for any life-sustaining medical treatment you may receive in the future.

Appointing a Guardian: What is a Guardian and why do I need to appoint one?

When you write a Will, in addition to recording your wishes for your estate in the event of your death, you will also be able to appoint a legal guardian your children.

Appointing Executors and Trustees

It’s important to carefully consider who to appoint as an executor or trustee in your Will, as the people you choose will have to carry out vital legal responsibilities.

Appointing Professional Executors and Trustees

There are a number of ways in which appointing a professional to administer your estate or trust can be helpful.

Digital Assets: What Are They and What Happens to Them on Death?

Digital assets can make up a significant part of a person’s estate, but they are often not fully understood. This help guide explains what digital assets are, and what happens to them after someone dies.

EU Succession Regulation

If you have a connection with any EU member states that have signed up to the EU Succession Regulation, this may affect what happens to your estate when you die.

Excluding Someone From Your Will: Can They Still Claim From Your Estate?

Under the IPFDA 1975, certain people are able to bring a claim in court against the estate of a person who has died.

Life Interest Trusts in Wills

A life interest trust is a type of trust that can be written into a Will. It is also possible for someone to set up a life interest trust during their lifetime, though these are called inter vivos trusts and are not covered in this help guide. With a life interest trust in a Will, …

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Life Interest Trusts: Planning for Care Home Fees – Protecting Your Property and Assets

We advise many clients when it comes to planning for the future. One recurring theme concerns care home costs, and how these might be met.

Life Interest Trusts: Second and Subsequent Marriages – Protecting Property and Assets for Your Children

One recurring theme concerns how best to protect children from losing their inheritance, if a spouse or partner remarries, or enters into a new relationship, after the first spouse or partner has died.

Looking After Your Pets in Your Will: What Are the Options?

You often hear stories of cats or dogs inheriting fortunes but, in England and Wales, at least, it is impossible to leave money to your pet.

Making a Will

Making a Will lets you decide what happens to your money, property, and possessions after your death.

Powers of Attorney: Are Attorneys Entitled to See the Donor’s Will?

Wills are confidential documents that are usually only made public after someone’s death. However, if you have been named as an Attorney on someone’s behalf, you might believe it is necessary for you to see that person’s Will.

Searching for a Will: How to Find out Whether Your Loved One Made a Valid Will

If you can’t find a loved one’s Will after their death – or if you’re not sure whether they made one at all – there are steps you can take to investigate this.

The STEP Provisions in Your Will

STEP Provisions give the executors of your Will several technical and routine provisions and powers to help them administer your estate correctly.

The STEP Provisions in your Will – 3rd Edition

Your draft Will contains reference to the ‘Standard Provisions and all of the Special Provisions of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (2nd Edition)’. These provisions are often referred to as the STEP Provisions. The STEP Provisions, whether standard or special, can be excluded from your Will, but we don’t recommend this. This is …

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Trust and Tax Implications of Your Will

Inheritance tax is a tax payable on your assets after your death. Any provisions you make in your Will may have implications on the tax liability of your estate.