Estate Planning
Our team of experts are specialists in wills, trusts, probate, estate planning and court of protection matters. We work hard to understand your needs, provide straightforward and honest advice to help you protect your loved ones.
Effective lifetime planning is about getting the right advice, considering everything that could affect your wishes and being aware of all your options. You can then make an informed decision about your planning to ensure your wishes are met, preserving your wealth as best you can.
Wills
A Will is an important and relatively inexpensive document for everyone to have. You can choose what happens to your property and money, as well as your proposals in relation to the care of your minor children, and any other wishes you may have.
If you have young children, or adults, who are dependent on you, appointing a guardian for your children is very important.
It will take you half an hour of your time and we can visit you at home should you need us to.
Fixed Fees
• Basic Individual Last Will and Testament: £150 + VAT
• Basic Mirror Last Will and Testament: £200 + VAT
Where a basic Will is insufficient you may wish to consider as part of your estate plan Trusts and Lasting Powers of Attorney.
Cancer Research Wills Service
Hayden Solicitors has partnered with Cancer Research since October 2018 to provide Wills at no cost to our clients. Gifts in Wills fund over a third of the charity’s life-saving research. Read more here.
We are pleased to be able to continue to offer this service to all new and existing clients.
Please make an appointment using our online booking system or call us. We will get back to you within 24 hours.
Trust
More of our clients are securing inheritance for bloodline relatives by creating a simple trust for their home or assets. The main purpose for setting up a trust is to protect and preserve family wealth for your loved ones and the generations to come.
What can a trust do?
• Reduce the costs and delays of probate
• Protect the surviving spouse on first death
• Avoid your family wealth passing outside the ‘bloodline’ family
• Protect your family wealth from any claims from unexpected/excluded beneficiaries
• Avoid your family wealth passing to creditors or any third parties
Some trusts are created during your lifetime others are upon death. We will discuss with you which type of trust best suits your needs.
Probate
If the deceased has left more than £5,000, stocks or shares, a house or land, or certain insurance policies, you will need to get a grant of probate. This is an official document which the executors need to administer the estate.
Obtaining a grant of probate
Where there is a Will and if you are named as an executor you may need to apply for a grant of probate.
Where there is no Will, the process is more complicated. However, a grant still needs to be applied for.
Contested Probate
A will can be disputed or challenged for many reasons. We can advise if you are an Executor, Trustee or a disappointed family member.
Fixed fees
Starting from £600 + VAT for a modest estate
Starting from £1,500 + VAT for a more complex estate
VAT is charged at the standard rate of 20%
Chargeable services include any meetings with you and others; time spent traveling; considering, preparing and working on papers; letters or emails received/sent and making/receiving telephone calls.
Services not included in the prices above involve the services provided by third parties for example a Barrister. You will need to pay for an independent solicitor to swear the Oath.
There is a Probate Registry fee payable of £273 for the application and Land Registry searches of approximately £3-£15 if the estate comprises of property/land.
The lawyers dealing with these matters are Mr Nigel Walker-Jennings and Mrs Nicola Evans who charge from £220 + VAT per hour. The quote provided includes an initial meeting to ‘Fact Find’, preparing and submitting the application to the Probate Registry. Their supervisor is Mrs Deborah Hayden-Pawson, who qualified as a solicitor in 1990 and has over 30 years’ experience.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
It is sensible for everyone to consider what will happen if you are unable to manage your own affairs, whether temporarily or permanently.
It is often assumed that if we were unable to look after our own affairs those closest to us would simply take over and make decisions about our finances and health care. Sadly, without Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) in place you would not be able to do so. This can be significantly difficult for loved ones and can be physically and emotionally draining.
A LPA is a legal document that enables you to appoint someone you trust to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf.
It is extremely important to note that you MUST have mental capacity at the time of making the LPA. If you do not have capacity, you cannot make an LPA. An application to the Court of Protection will have to be made, which is very expensive and time consuming.
There are two types of LPA’s;
• Property and Financial Affairs
• Health and Welfare
Property and Financial Affairs
An attorney under this type of LPA may act even though the donor has capacity, unless stated otherwise.
An attorney would be able to make decisions about money and property for you, for example:
• Managing a bank or building society account
• Paying bills
• Collecting benefits or a pension
• Selling your home
Health and Welfare
This enables an attorney to make decisions about social and health care needs. The attorney can only act if the person is deemed to not have capacity.
An attorney would be able to make decisions about things like:
• Deciding where the persons main residence should be
• Medical care
• Moving into a care home
• Life-sustaining treatment
Remember, once you have lost mental capacity it is too late to make LPA’s and your loved ones would need to apply for a deputyship order. LPA’s are like insurance; you might never need it but it is there for if/when you do.
The legal fees for a Lasting Powers of Attorney are £300 + VAT per LPA plus office of public guardian registration fee of £82 per document (maybe suitable for exemption).
