Wills – what is a Discretionary Trust? Discretionary trusts can be both ‘inter vivos’ (during our lifetime), and in our Wills. In simple terms, a discretionary trust in our will leaves the decision making as to who gets what and when to the appointed trustees, rather than us making the decision [...]
What happened to Nil Rate Band Discretionary Will Trusts? Nil Rate Band will trusts allowed a married couple to capture both nil rate band allowances. Nil rate band discretionary will trusts were a popular tax planning tool for married couples pre-2007. Then (2007) a change in Inheritance Tax (IHT) laws rendered [...]
How do I cancel my Will? The rules around both making and cancelling a Will are very particular. There are a number of ways a will can be ‘revoked’ (the legal phrase for ‘cancel’) – some intentional, some perhaps not! Here, we take a look at what does and does not [...]
Does Divorce revoke a Will? The Wills Act 1837 states that both marriage and divorce will impact the legal status of a will. No – divorce does not cancel (known as ‘revoke’) a will. It simply removes those elements of a will where the ex-spouse is mentioned. So, this would include [...]
Does Marriage Cancel a Will? Getting married is a time when we should contemplate our mortality - & review our will(s)…! The simple answer is yes, marriage does cancel (aka ‘revoke’) a will. So, when your wedding preparations are underway, add ‘make a will’ to your list of wedding to-do’s! Failing [...]
Wills – Second marriage and the family home Second marriage will often create wishes for the ‘new couple’ that might involve will trusts. As a solicitor having dealt with wills and probate for longer than I care to remember, there isn’t much I haven’t seen. But themes appear over the years [...]
How do I make a Will? You can make your own will - but do you want to risk it? Yes, you can make your own will. And, here is an explanation of what you need to think about when doing so. Let’s start at the beginning, and ask ourselves what [...]
AUTUMN STATEMENT – Inheritance Tax: will changes benefit the few or the many? IHT is paid on our net residuary estate when we die and there are allowances and exemptions. So, we’re a couple of days away from the 2023 autumn statement, and of course a general election looms on the [...]
Mirror Wills - ‘backstop provisions’ for couples Mirror wills are matching wills made (typically) by couples where the terms are the same. One of the defining elements of mirror wills is the ‘backstop’ provisions – sometimes called the ‘disaster scenario’. For the purposes of this illustration, lets assume mirror wills are [...]
How do I contest a Will? There are various grounds for contesting a Will. A will can generally be contested for one of two reasons:- INVALID – the will is for some reason deemed invalid; or FAMILY PROVISION – whilst technically valid, it failed to make adequate provision for persons previously [...]
