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Wills, Trusts, and Estate Planning

Watford Wills and Trusts is a company that you can depend on to deal with your affairs delicately and professionally. We are members of the Society of Will Writers and have the support of experts both locally in the UK.

We are your local Will makers providing:

• Lasting Powers of Attorney
• General Powers of Attorney
• Severances of joint tenancy
• Property and Asset Protection Trusts
• Advance Directives
• Family Exclusions
• Probate Services
• Secure document storage
• Funeral Plans
• Investment advice

Wills

Wills are an essential economic planning tool, protecting your interests to prevent others from benefiting from your estate through remarriage, divorce, or intestacy.

Having a Will is both wise and essential if you own any property or have any form of assets. A Will is required to prevent the courts from awarding your money to someone else. Sadly, this happens often, but it could easily be avoided for the sake of a couple of hours and a minimal cost.

Don’t give your money away to HMRC or your daughter’s new boyfriend or your son’s ex-wife. Watford Wills will advise you on the best discretionary clauses to protect your hard-earned money to ensure it is distributed in the areas of your choice.

Beware of vendors that offer you a simple Will or trusting in your paper napkin Will. Your estate is worth more, and you should speak to us before the worst happens.

It is strongly advised to review and potentially make a new Will every 3 to 5 years and after significant life events. Reasons can include:

• Marriage
• After having children
• If your children marry or the arrival of grandchildren
• When you move or sell a house
• If you are moving abroad but have a property in the UK
• Certainly, after a lottery win
• If you take your pension early through equity release from your property

You should also review your Will every year. Just imagine the consequences for your family if they suffer after your death because you never wrote a Will.

Your Simple Guide to Wills and Trusts

Probate

A Grant of Representation, commonly known as Probate, is required for your spouse or executor to deal with your affairs after your death. It is a process that is required ‘BEFORE’ your assets can be distributed according to your instructions. This process is called Probate, and nothing can happen until the Grant of Probate is granted.

Watford Wills can deal with your probate quickly and efficiently, and at a far lower cost than your bank or solicitor will charge. We believe that we are the fairest around for probate costs that could otherwise take a huge chunk from your family’s inheritance. In England and Wales, the government probate application fee is a flat £300 for estates valued at £5,000 or over.

We typically charge around 3% for probate, depending on the complexity, which is significantly lower than some solicitors and banks who can charge 5% or more for the same service. This means that more of your money goes to your beneficiaries, and less to the Government, HMRC, or Solicitors.

Contact us for fast and professional probate processing.

Property Trusts

If you own property and you do not want to risk losing it, you need to speak to us about a Property Protection Trust.

Every day, thousands of people lose the house they worked and saved for over the years because one or both partners need to go into care. Property Protection Trusts are a common way to help protect your estate from care home fees.

If your total assets amount to more than £23,250, the local authority may seek to use those assets to pay for care fees. Unless you have approximately £500 – £1000.00 per week to hand to pay the care home fee for 2, 3, or 10 years, it could mean the loss of your house and the remaining partner having to look for somewhere else to live.

Having to put a loved one into care and then having to find a new home is an unpleasant and depressing situation for the entire family. As you cannot know if you or your partner will need to go into a care home, it is best to deal with this situation as soon as possible, especially if you are near or past retirement age.

Do not leave this to chance; speak to us today about our Property Protection Trust and severance of joint tenancy.

Lasting Powers of Attorney: Property and Financial Affairs

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is essential for families that have a business or shared assets. LPAs are imperative if you have businesses or shared properties. If one or the other of you becomes incapacitated, then the other person can deal with their affairs quickly and easily.

An LPA for Property and Financial Affairs allows and gives your chosen attorney(s) the power to act on your behalf on matters of property and finance with banks, solicitors, local authorities, government departments, and many other institutions or suppliers.

The alternative is that the Court of Protection takes charge of your affairs, and they may not act in your and your family’s best interest.

Lasting Power of Attorney: Health and Welfare

This affects the care that you can receive if you are incapacitated. If you ever have to have medical treatment, your Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare allows you to have a say in your treatment and the circumstances under which you are treated.

About Our Organisation

As members of the Society of Will Writers, we are bound by a strict code of practice and business model. Our wills and trusts are checked and written by Watford Wills and Trust.

Complaints are dealt with by the Society of Will Writers, which protects our customers’ interests. We also have to carry professional indemnity insurance of at least £2 million to cover us in the event of errors that may lead to claims against us if we have been negligent and this affected your beneficiaries’ inheritance.

Members are expected to adhere to the strict code of practice and provide excellent customer service and maintain good relations with everyone that deals with us.

Wills, Trusts, and Estates Planning

Professional consultation to help you to get your affairs in order.

Call us on 07092 029643 to speak to a professional adviser today.

New Ways to Do Business

• Free Will Checking Service: Let us check your existing Will for free, or your shop-bought Will kit. No hard sales, just an expert opinion.
• We can take your instructions over the phone or on Skype if you prefer.
• We can also make Video Wills and help you to set up a family digital archive.

Call us to find out how flexible we can be.

Charles

Watford Wills and trusts – Wills Trusts and Estates Planning.