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Make Your Will Today for Only £8.95
"MILLIONS of people who fail to make a will are putting their families and dependents at financial risk." - Helen Loveless, Mail on Sunday
Every adult should make a Will. If you do not make a Will, your property will be
disposed of in accordance with the intestacy laws, and your wishes will not be taken into
account. In fact, in some cases, if you do not make a Will, your property may even go to
the Crown.
You can prepare your own valid and legally binding Will by following the instructions in our guide which will be provided to you instantly at a cost of only £8.95
The Make Your Will Guide provides all the information that you need to make your Will today. Written by an experienced partner of Emmetts Solicitors the guide explains all you need to know to make your will today.
Precedent forms are also provided to enable you to make it quick and easy for you make your will.
Buy the Make Your Will Guide and Will Precedent Forms for £8.95 by clicking the button below.
Instant download. No waiting.
After purchasing the Make Your Will Guide you will be immediately redirected to our secure download site where you can download the Make Your Will Guide and Will Precedent Forms that will allow you to make your Will today.
The detailed guide contains all the information you will need to make your Will.
The information provided to you is easy to understand, detailed and concise and contains information including:
Why make a Will?
Intestacy -What is it and why should I avoid it?
Should I make a Will?
Do I need a solicitor?
How long does a Will last for?
When should I make a new Will?
Preparing to make a Will
Executors & Trustees
Guardians
Beneficiaries
Gifts
Dealing with Property mentioned in your Will during your lifetime
Property that passes outside your Will
Tax and Estate Planning
Witnessing your Will
Signing your Will
Changing your Will
Storing your Will
Using the Will Precedents
No adult should be without a Will. Buy our Make Your Will guide now and make your Will today.
Unlike other self-prepare guides, this Guide is backed by Emmetts Solicitors and provides details of how you can obtain professional support from qualified solicitors.
Buy the Make Your Will Guide now and make your Will today for only £8.95.
Payment can be made with any credit card by clicking the Make Your Will Today button below.
You will be provided with access to the Make Your Will Guide and Will Precedent Forms to enable you to Make Your Will immediately after payment has been made.
Can anyone use the Make Your Will Guide to make their Will?
The Make Your Will Guide is designed for people in England and Wales who wish to make a will. The Make Your Will Guide is not suitable for people who live and own all of their property in another jurisdiction, including Scotland.
The Make Your Will Guide provides detailed information that will allow you to Make Your Will in most cases where your Will requirements are straight forward, providing peace of mind at a low cost.
There are some instances when you should take professional advice from a solicitor before making your Will. These circumstances are clearly set out in the Make Your Will Guide together with details of how to instruct Emmetts Solicitors to draft your Will for you.
If you prepare your Will using Emmetts Solicitors Make Your Will Guide, Emmetts Solicitors offer a service to check that your Will is valid and has been properly signed.
If after you buy the Make Your Will Guide you decide to instruct Emmetts Solicitors to prepare your Will for you using the Bespoke Professional Will Writing Service by Emmetts Solicitors, we will refund the cost of buying the Make Your Will Guide and Will Precedent Forms to you
To buy the Make Your Will Guide and Precedent Forms to make your Will today for only £8.95, click on the Make Your Will Today button below. Payment can be made with any debit or credit card.
Dangers of not making a Will
From an Article in the BBC News Online Archives
By Ian Burman dated 5th April 2007. Click here to go to the article
"Half of all Britons have not made a will.
The law sets out clear rules for what happens to your estate - property, personal possessions and cash - if you die without a will.
Passing away without a will is known in legal parlance as dying intestate and the rules that govern the distribution of the estate in such circumstances is known as the law of intestacy.
Under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 the spouse and children do not automatically receive everything in the deceased's estate.
There is a strict pecking order under the Act for deciding who gets what.
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?The surviving spouse is treated harshly by the intestacy rules.
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Where the deceased leaves a spouse but no children, the spouse receives:
• All the personal chattels such as a car, furniture, clothes and jewellery
• A legacy of £200,000 and one half of the balance outright
• The remaining balance then passes to various relatives; first to the deceased's parents if either are still alive but if not then equally amongst brothers and sisters
Where there is a spouse and children, the spouse receives:
• All the personal chattels
• A legacy of £125,000 and the income from one half of the balance
• The rest passes to the children on reaching 18
All this can leave the spouse and the children with a financial headache, typical problems include:
• If the matrimonial home is in the deceased spouse's sole name, this may often have to be sold to satisfy the various family claims
• Where there are children they are likely to receive very little, unless the estate is worth several hundred thousand pounds
• Inheritance tax may be due if the value of the estate passing to the beneficiaries, apart from the spouse, is worth more than £300,000 (2007/2008 tax year)
Harsh treatment
The spouse is free to ask the courts for more money, under the Provision for Family and Dependents Act 1975.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt, that the surviving spouse is treated harshly by the intestacy rules.
Although at first glance it seems that children fare well under intestacy, they are guaranteed a share of the estate, the fact that are entitled to receive their inheritance at age 18 poses all sorts of dangers.
The age of 18 is very young to inherit. In contrast most wills seek to increase the age of inheritance to 21 or 25.
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? In short, in nearly all cases failure to make a will leaves too much to chance
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Where there are no children other family members have a right to benefit in the estate.
This may not be such a good thing. Elderly relatives may have no need of the funds and indeed an inheritance at this stage may upset their own inheritance tax planning.
Furthermore, who is to say whether the deceased wanted such family members to benefit anyway?
Unsuitable
Failure to make a will denies the deceased the opportunity of naming suitable people in the form of executors to administer the estate.
Instead beneficiaries administer the estate of the deceased, they may not be suitable to deal with large sums of money or in some cases a business.
In short, in nearly all cases, failure to make a will leaves too much to chance.
Making a will is a must, not an option."
Bespoke Professional Will Writing Service by Emmetts Solicitors for £100 (exc. VAT) .
If your estate is complicated, if you wish to have the certainty and protection of a solicitor preparing your Will or if you do not wish to Make Your Own Will using the Guide for any other reason, Emmetts Solicitors offer a full Will Writing Service with prices starting at £100 (exc. VAT)
Emmetts Solicitors full price list for the Bespoke Professional Will Writing Service can be viewed by clicking on the link below:
Bespoke Professional Will Writing Service - Price List
In order to use the Will writing service, you simply need to complete and submit the no obligation questionnaire below. It will typically take about 10 minutes to complete the information on the questionnaire.
When you submit the questionnaire, the information will be reviewed within 24 hours by one of our experienced solicitors. It may be that we require further information from you and if so you will be contacted to discuss your requirements in more detail.
Following the review of the information, you will receive a firm quote for preparing your Will by email. Please note that there is no obligation to instruct Emmetts Solicitors prior to acceptance of the quote.
If you agree the quote and wish to instruct Emmetts Solicitors to prepare your Will, you simply make payment via a link contained within the email using any major credit card. Upon confirmaton of your instructions and receipt of payment, your bespoke Will will be drafted.
The draft will be sent to you for approval. Upon approval, we will send an engrossed copy of the Will to you by post with detailed instructions of how to sign the Will.
After your Will has been signed, we will check the Will at no additional charge and if you require us to store the Will we will provide you with a 25% discount on the usual storage fee.
If you wish to obtain a no obligation quote and discuss the Will writing service further with one of our solicitors please complete the questionnaire by clicking on the link below.
Bespoke Professional Will Writing Service - Questionnaire
Insurance cover offered to guardians
04 September 2008
The Office for the Public Guardian settles the deal to improve insurance cover options.The Office for the Public Guardian has agreed a scheme with HSBC Insurance Brokers to offer guardians quicker insurance (caution) cover to enable them to look after the property in their care.
The alternative cautionary service, now available, offers a simplified application process for all estates but those under £500,000 have an automatic presumption of suitability and only minimal information is required.
A fixed and reasonably priced premium scale has been put in place with the option available to transfer from another insurance provider if necessary.
New charity funding boost for pro bono lawyers
Thursday 11 September 2008
by Neil Rose
A national charity is to be launched next month to distribute a new means of income for pro bono legal advice services. The Access to Justice Foundation is a major cross-profession initiative backed by the Law Society, Bar Council, Institute of Legal Executives and Advice Services Alliance. Under section 194 of the Legal Services Act – which will be in force on 1 October and was promoted by the Attorney General’s national pro bono coordinating committee – the foundation will then receive the cost orders made by courts when the successful party is represented wholly or partly pro bono. Currently, no such order can be made. The foundation will also be able to receive funds either by donation or through other systems. It will take a strategic view of need, funnelling money directly into the new network of regional legal support trusts and so enabling distribution to local legal advice charities and helping to develop local pro bono communities. London already has a well established trust, and there are plans to create six more across the country, with those in Wales, the north-west and Midlands being the most advanced. They will also undertake their own additional fund-raising activities, such as the series of walks that are taking place at the end of this month around the country. Michael Napier (pictured), senior partner of national firm Irwin Mitchell and the Attorney General’s pro bono envoy, said: ‘The foundation and trusts will offer a further strategic dimension to the magnificent contribution of the legal professions in giving free legal advice to those who cannot pay. ‘In time, better access to justice – less unmet legal need – will be the result. The foundation will also be there as the destination for all other charitable donations in the cause of access to justice. But it must be stated that, just like pro bono itself, the foundation will never be a substitute for legal aid.’
In Brief: Bereavement Damages Increase
Emmetts Solicitors - 24/04/2008
The level of damages for bereavement in England and Wales has been increased from £10,000 to £11,800 and the new level applies for causes of action which commenced after 31 December 2007.
It is intended that in future, adjustments will be made at three-yearly intervals.
Court victory for man claiming to be love child of Princess Margaret
09 February 2008
A Court of Appeal victory for a man who claims to be the illegitimate son of the late Princess Margaret could threaten the secrecy of royal Wills.
Robert Brown, 52, an accountant from Jersey, believes that access to the Princess's Will may establish whether he is the love child of Princess Margaret and Group Captain Peter Townsend.
In July last year the Family Court refused Brown access to the Wills of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother but yesterday won the right for a High Court hearing of his bid to see them.
Allowing the appeal, Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips, described Brown’s belief as "both irrational and scandalous" but said that he “was and is entitled to have a substantive hearing of his claim to inspect the wills.”
If the court rules in Brown's favour it would overturn the convention established in 1911 which has ensured that any Wills of members of the Royal Family cannot be inspected by the public.
Mr Brown was born on January 5 1955 in Nairobi, Kenya, although his birth was not registered until Februaury 2 and the birth certificate gives the later date of June 4 1955.
He claims that his listed birth mother, Cynthia Joan Brown (nee Lyle), now deceased, and his father, Douglas Brown, who was posted to Kenya during the Second World War, agreed to adopt an illegitimate baby born to Princess Margaret.
Cynthia Joan Brown was a society model who worked for Hardy Amies, the Queen's former dresser.
It has been pointed out that it would be highly unlikely that such a high-profile public figure as Princess Margaret could have kept a pregnancy hidden.
The case will be heard again later this spring.
IHT threshold to rise to £700k for some couples
10 October 2007
The Chancellor has announced that the inheritance tax threshold will rise to £700,000 for married couples and those in civil partnerships.
Jon Golding of LexisNexis Butterworths and author of Tolley's Inheritance Tax says:
"By increasing the IHT threshold, with immediate effect, to £600,000 and rising to £700,000 for married couples and civil partnerships only, seems to be generous but recent statistics do show that less marriages are taking place with more couples choosing to live together. It will however take many estates out of IHT net when married couples pass on their homes to, say, their children, but it will only apply when the survivor spouse dies.
"This is a delayed tax saving. Even the immediate IHT benefit for widows and widowers of their deceased partner's IHT threshold will only be of help when that surviving spouse dies ... this may be in many years time especially with the increasing longevity of the United Kingdom's population. Those that will lose out are people living together so, maybe, a key tax planning suggestion for the future will be to get married and save an additional £120,000 in IHT."
It is a common misconception that the relationship between cohabiting couples is a ‘common law marriage' with the appropriate protections afforded married couples and, now, civil partnerships. But common law marriage was abolished in 1753. The new IHT proposals will not apply to cohabiting couples
Seek professional advice on trusts, warns ACCA
04 June 2007
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is warning people who are thinking of setting up a trust to seek professional advice before doing so.
Trusts can be a good way of managing money and or property, but given the complex rules, people who are thinking of doing this should discuss their options with an accountant who will be able to explain the best options.
Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at ACCA, said: "The rules regarding trusts are changed annually by the government in the Budget and this makes it difficult to keep up with them. And the rule changes are becoming more and more complex as the government wants to make sure trusts are not being used to avoid tax - especially inheritance tax."
In the past, trusts have often been used as a legal way to limit inheritance tax duties, which used to be a tax for the wealthy. But with most house prices rising over the IHT threshold, more and more homeowners are now liable to pay IHT on their death.
Roy-Chowdhury added: "The inheritance tax threshold is failing to keep pace with house price inflation. This is seen by many as one of the greatest injustices in the tax system, and it motivates people to think about how they can protect the biggest financial asset they own - their home - when they die.
"Trusts may not be the best way to limit a tax liability. Beneficiaries have to pay tax on the income from a trust, so somewhere down the line, someone, somewhere will always end up paying what is owed."
Have you made a will?
Helen Loveless, Mail on Sunday
MILLIONS of people who fail to make a will are putting their families and dependants at financial risk.
Disturbing new figures from the voluntary organisation Will Aid reveal that nearly 50% of people die without a valid will. And an astonishing three quarters of those aged under 44 have not made a will.
Will Aid, which was set up by solicitors and leading charities, aims to encourage people to make wills by offering a free service.
Customers will be asked to donate between £35 to £95 to charities supporting the initiative.
Many people do not realise that if they die intestate - without a will - part or all of their estate, including their house less outstanding mortgage, could go to the Crown. The Treasury collected £15 million from intestate wills last year.
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