Estate Planning & Inheritance Tax

Inheritance tax is currently set at 40% of your estate over the Nil Rate Band from 06.04.2008 This is currently £312,000 so for example; if your estate is valued at £400,000 your estate will be liable to pay £35,200 in Inheritance Tax. We can help you to minimise your liabilities with forward tax planning, utilising your Last Will & Testament, which will ultimately give benefit to your loved ones, not the Inland Revenue.

Property Trusts

Trusts offer a means of holding and managing money or property for people who may not be ready or able to manage it for themselves. Used in conjunction with a will, they can also help ensure that your assets are passed on in accordance with your wishes after you die and can also help protect the value of your home from the effects of long term care or remarriage. ELM can help in arranging conveyancing for property to be transferred from one person to another.

Dealing with Probate

Probate is the legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person, specifically resolving all claims and distributing the decedent's property.

The term probate often means the issuing of a legal document to one or more people authorising them to do this. The probate registry issues the document, which is called a grant of representation. There are three types of grant of representation:

1. Probate - Issued to one or more of the executors named in the deceased will.

2. Letters of administration (with will) - Issued when there is a will, but there is no executor named, or when the executors are unable to apply, or do not wish to be involved in dealing with the estate

3. Letters of administration - Issued when the deceased had not made a will, or any will made is not valid

ELM provide a sensitive yet professional service dealing with all aspects of estate administration from obtaining a grant of probate to providing beneficiaries with advice on tax. This is why our Perpetual Will service is chosen by many clients.

Pre-Paid Funeral Plans

Having the foresight to plan today for your Funeral will remove from your loved ones the need to plan, prepare and pay for your Funeral.

This can also mean a substantial saving against your Estate, as the costs associated with Funerals has risen by 70% in the past ten years, and if you choose to plan in advance you will pay today's price, not the price when it is needed.

In summary, Pre-paid plans will provide peace of mind that your loved ones will only have to make a simple phone call to implement your Funeral wishes with no further costs. To speak with someone about Funeral Plans either call us or Contact us for more information on funeral packages.

 

*Funeral plans are provided by Dignity - the largest funeral plan provider in the UK with some 528 Funeral Directors nationwide.