Care of the Elderly In view of the length of time Jackson Barrett & Gass has been in practice, and in view of the number of Wills held for clients over the years, we have a significant number of clients who would fall within the accepted definition of "elderly". more + For such clients, particularly those who do not have family and friends or who do have family and friends but not geographically close-by, we offer a full care service. We will look after that person's financial affairs, including ensuring the correct investment of the monies available, the operation of bank accounts, the collection of pensions and payment of care fees and income tax. Inheritance Tax Planning Inheritance tax is tax payable on your estate upon death. A tax is charged on individual estates currently valued at 40% of any figure above £300,000. In his pre-budget report (PBR) in October 2007, the Chancellor raised IHT threshold to £600,00 for married couples and those in civil partnerships. more + This is no benefit to our existing married or civil partner clients for whom we have been securing a threshold of double the individual threshold for many years. We are currently considering the detail of the PBR and revising our strategy accordingly. Please contact us for details. There are effectively only two ways of dealing with inheritance tax. The first is to give your assets away either during lifetime or upon death. The second is to provide for the tax by way of providing a fund of money usually held in trust and often via an insurance policy to provide a fund to pay the inheritance tax as it falls due. We have wide experience in dealing with these matters and a will costing a modest sum, could lead to a significant inheritance tax saving Court of Protection Matters tbc more + Investment Advice We find that many of our clients are uncertain where to look for expert and independent investment advice. This is not surprising since the major banks, and most building societies and investment advisors, have become "tied" to one particular investment house or insurance company. more + This means that they are only able to recommend investments or insurance policies of the one company they are tied to (except in relation to a narrow range of products). In effect, they are salesmen for that company. This may prevent them recommending the best investment for your purposes - what they offer may be good but there may be something better on the market. We believe that it is important to ensure that our clients have available to them advice, which is both expert and independent, that is, advice which is uninfluenced by any "tie". We achieve this through Solicitors Financial Services, a scheme set up by The Law Society to help solicitors to provide clients with advice which meets these high standards. If you are interested in receiving such advice, then we can discuss the extent to which you would like us to remain involved. As solicitors we are not authorised to advise on investments, but can provide certain limited services in relation to investments, where these arise out of our legal services, as we are regulated by The Solicitors Regulation Authority. Depending on the level of service which you would like (e.g. a simple introduction to an investment advisor or additional assistance) we can then let you have a letter setting out our terms of business. You can choose whether you wish to proceed on a fee-paying basis or whether you prefer us to be paid by receiving a share of the commission paid by the investment company you select. These options only apply, however, if you decide to proceed. The initial comprehensive report with full recommendations is provided entirely without charge or obligation. Click HERE to start the will process. Lasting Powers of Attorney Changes to the law relating to the Powers of Attorney took place on 1st October 2007. Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) were introduced in 1987 and replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) which were introduced under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. more + Provided an EPA was validly executed prior to 30th September 2007, it remains fully valid and can be used in its normal way. Despite this, there may be reasons why you would wish to revoke your EPA in favour of an LPA (security see below) or to supplement it with an LPA in relation to welfare issues (see below). Why LPAs? There are a number of reasons, the main two being; 1: Ageing population. There are already a surprising number of people in this country over 100. The threat of illness, mental and physical, is an ever-present one and it is sensible and prudent to protect your wealth and health as far as possible, by passing decision making to a trusted person(s). 2: Security. The Public Guardianship Office (now renamed as The Office of the Public Guardian), estimates that fraud occurs in 10-15% of cases where an EPA has been registered. Considering that previously, EPAs only needed to be registered when the donor lost his or her mental capacity, this is a fairly small number out of the total EPAs in existence and/or use, and the instances of fraud could be much higher. The new LPAs considerably tighten security, and it may be prudent to consider replacing an existing EPA in favour of an LPA for this reason alone. The New LPAS There are two types of LPAs. The first LPA (PA) is designed similarly to EPAs, to enable somebody to look after your financial affairs. The "safe guards" are that upto 5 nominated people are to be notified when an LPA is registered, and a "Certificate Provider" must sign a certificate to confirm that you have entered into the LPA freely and without undue influence or duress. A Certificate Provider will generally be your solicitor or other approved professional, although it can be anybody who has known the donor for at least two years. The major change here, however, is that the LPA (PA) must be registered before it can be used. Applications must be made to the Office of Public Guardian (OPG) with payment of the current fee (£150). The OPG then notify the persons you have nominated, and they have 6 weeks in which to object, failing which, the LPA will be registered. To save cost, LPAs can be made (in the same way as EPAs used to be) and held in safe custody until required. This at least postpones the payment of the registration fees. However, once registered, the LPA (PA) can be used whether or not the donor has capacity. The new type of LPA (PW) is designed to appoint someone to make decisions on your welfare including for example, where you live and day to day care. This type of LPA will also allow your attorney/s to make decisions regarding medical treatment including whether or not to accept lifesaving treatment, if you you authorise them to make those decisions. If you do grant an LPA (PW), it is advisable to register immediately, because this type of power can only be used if you have lost capacity, which will render the power ineffective if this happens before registration. Although more expensive to set up than EPAs, they are still considerably cheaper than doing nothing and relying on the appointment of a Deputy (Receiver) by the Court of Protection. (see Court of Protection Matters) Probate When someone dies what he or she leaves behind is referred to as their "estate". If you die leaving an estate valued more than £5000 then it is necessary for the appropriate person/s to obtain a Grant to establish their entitlement to collect in your estate and distribute it to those entitled. more + If you die leaving a Will then you will require a Grant of Probate. A Grant of Probate simply proves the Will to be the last Will and Testament, and gives your named executor/s the authority to collect in and distribute the estate on your behalf. If you die intestate, then although the procedure is effectively the same, the Grant which is required is called a 'Grant of Letters of Administration' and is available to your nearest relatives based on those entitled to your estate under the laws of intestacy. Those entitled to take a Grant of Letters of Administration and share in the estate of an intestate are as follows* Click HERE for Intestacy Rules. Our fees for probate work follow the Law Society's recommended guideline charges, which involve a fee based on the value of the estate and the cost of time spent. In many cases, we agree a fixed fee at the outset. Click HERE to start the will process. | 
