Thanks a Million

At their annual conference, the Conservatives proposed cutting inheritance tax (IHT) by raising the threshold to £1,000,000 but you don’t have to wait for them to win an election to escape death duties. Originally intended as a tax on the rich, 2,300,000 homes are now above the current IHT limit of £300,000 and the IHT net is expected to catch more families as assets continue to grow faster than the indexation of the threshold or Nil Rate Band. The current IHT rules mean you can still pass substantial amounts of wealth to chosen beneficiaries – providing of course your estate is arranged in a tax-efficient way.

Many married couples leave their assets completely to their surviving spouse when they die – there is no IHT between UK domiciled spouses – but by doing this a nil rate band is wasted on the first death, resulting in up to £120,000 IHT being paid unnecessarily. Using a will trust arrangement can ensure that, for married couples (or registered civil partners), up to £600,000 can be passed on tax-free. Making gifts is a good way to reduce a taxable estate – the annual allowance is £3,000 per person so over a twenty-year period a married couple (civil partners) could gift another £120,000 tax-free. Investing in shares listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) can lead to 100% Business Property Relief after two years of ownership, so removing the value from the estate and there is no investment limit. There are many other arrangements that can save tax without impinging on your own financial security so with the prospect of any early election now over (for the time being), now seems a good time to review one’s plans.

Alan Porter, of The Will Centre says, “IHT is a tax that can be erased from most estates by either a Nil Rate Band Discretionary Will Trust or careful lifetime planning. We help a lot of clients in this situation who have a house that puts them into the IHT risk zone of £300,000 to £600,000 when added to other assets.”

For help and advice if you are in the IHT Risk Zone call The Will Centre on 01752-607040.

Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) Deadline Looms!

The last day for signing an EPA is 30th September 2007, only 24 days away!

The length of the EPA form is 4 pages if you make an EPA with 2 Attorneys. From 1st October if you make a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) using a Power and Affairs LPA it is 25 pages long and a Personal Welfare LPA is 24 pages!

So you can see why an LPA is going to be MUCH more expensive than an EPA. Plus with an LPA a registration fee of £150 has to be paid to the court.

So why make an EPA or LPA:

There are 3500 dementia sufferers in Plymouth alone.
This is expected to rise by 43 per cent by 2020 according to recent research.
It costs roughly £25,000 to provide care for each sufferer per year.
Dementia affects one in 20 people over the age of 65 and one in 5 over the age of 80.
The Alzheimer’s Society estimates that there are over 70,000 people in the UK with dementia.
There are over 100 different types of dementia; the most common are Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies.
Symptoms include loss of memory, confusion and problems with speech and understanding.
Most forms of dementia cannot be cured. There are some drugs available that appear to alleviate some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in some people.

Alan Porter of The Will Centre says, “So LPA or EPA? An EPA is much cheaper and easier to do but you only have 24 days left to make one! The last day for making one is a Sunday (30th September)! An LPA is longer, much more complex and will cost a lot more. The simple choice is make an EPA NOW! Call The Will Centre for more details, before it’s TO LATE!”

Scams - If it doesn't sound right it probably isn't!

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been made aware of a scam involving consumers being telephoned by people, alleging to be from the OFT, asking for personal and financial information including their bank account details in order for the OFT to reclaim bank charges on their behalf. These callers have no connection with the OFT, and their intention is to use the information for identity theft or to run up bills or commit crimes using stolen details. The OFT will never contact consumers asking them for personal bank details.

The OFT is warning consumers not to pass on personal or financial information to cold callers either over the phone or via email, and if they have already done so, to contact their bank as soon as possible and review their credit card and bank account statements to see if there have been any unauthorised transactions. For full deatils go to http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2007/125-07

Alan Porter of The Will Centre says, "NEVER disclose personal information. There are several websites that contain information such as 'Get Safe Online' and 'Bank Safe Online'. Log on to these and get wise to the scammers".

Lasting Powers of Attorney

On 1st October 2007 a new regime comes into force that was designed to protect the elderly.

Currently a person (called ‘the donor’) can make an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA). This will be replaced by a new document called a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) as laid out in sections 9-14 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. However EPA’s made before 1st October will still be valid and continue after 1st October. After this date you will only be able to make an LPA. There are two types of LPA: one for property and finances and the other for personal welfare. This is a key change: the attorney will be able to make decisions about the person’s welfare, health and housing – even if life-sustaining treatment is to be refused.

But lawyers still have concerns. It is felt that the new regime (which does not affect existing EPA’s) will be more difficult, costly and be subject to greater delays. There must also be a certificate to state that the donor knows what he or she is doing.

Alan Porter of The Will Centre says, “This is still a lot on confusion about LPA’s. The legislation was supposed to start earlier this year but was put back to the 1st October. Our advice is to make sure you have an EPA before the deadline of 1st October. If you already have one then make sure it is updated if it does not make your current wishes. And don’t forget EPA’s aren’t just for the elderly or infirm – they are for everyone!”

Call The Will Centre on 01752 607040 for free impartial advice.

Will Awareness Week - 24th to 29th September

The Society of Will Writers estimates that currently 70% of the UK adult population don’t have a Will or, they have an old Will that does not account for changes that have been made in their lives, in an increasingly complex society it is our role to educate on the benefits having a Will and ensuring that it is up-to-date. ‘Will Awareness Week’ is a National campaign that is being run by The Society of Will Writers to raise awareness of the importance of having a Will. The campaign will take place from the 24th – 29th September 2007.

The campaign will tour 6 cities in 6 days: Lincoln, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Milton Keynes. The aim of the road show will be to raise awareness as to the significance of a Will and its importance to everyone regardless of age, gender or fortune.

We will be supporting this campaign with events in Plymouth. Do you have any ideas how we can support or publicise Will Awareness Week?

Daughter Jailed for using DIY Will Kit to forge her dying Mother's Will

By Alan Porter of The Will Centre.

Doing your own Will is often fraught with difficulties but as the following shows there are greater dangers than just not doing it right . . .

"A DAUGHTER has been jailed for forging her dying mother's Will to cheat her family. The woman was in line to get a quarter of her mother's £70,000 estate, sharing it equally with her three step-siblings.

Instead she ignored her mother's last wishes, invented a second will making herself the executor and decided to give her step brother and step sisters £2,000 each and keep the rest for herself. With her mother dying of cancer in Hospital and unable to move let alone write her name, she forged a cheque and took £8,000 from her mother's bank account. She made plans to transfer the remaining £7,000 in the account into her own name and contacted an estate agent to sell her mother's home.

Her mother died three days later, aged 79, unaware of how her daughter had defied her. The
woman used the £8,000 cheque she had forged to pay off her step-siblings, telling them in letters that her mother had written a new Will and she was the major beneficiary. But they questioned the new Will with a solicitor and the police, and the scam began to unravel.

A handwriting expert found that the signature on the cheque had been forged. The deception was carried out with a £9.99 Will kit bought from W H Smith.

Despite repeated denials of wrongdoing before the trial she pleaded guilty to obtaining a money
transfer by deception, using a false instrument and making a false statement on oath."

Don’t leave things to chance. A Will is probably the most important document you will ever make so do it properly. Call us on 01752-607040. We offer a FREE review service for Home Made or DIY Wills.

Smoking Ban Days Away

From 1st of July 2007 virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces in England will become smokefree. The blurb on the Smike Free England website says that "A smokefree England will ensure a healthier environment, so everyone can socialise, relax, travel, shop and work free from secondhand smoke."

This website provides you with information about the new legislation and lets you know how you can play an important part in creating a smokefree England.

http://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/

The Will Centre will become a smoke free zone on 1st July 2007.

HMRC denies crackdown on buy-to-let investors

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has played down press reports this week suggesting that buy-to-let landlords face a campaign to reclaim unpaid taxes. The reports said that HMRC has identified some 80,000 buy-to-let investors who may be liable to extra tax payments on their properties. One reason for the failure to pay the correct amount of tax is that some investors may have believed mistakenly that the whole of a mortgage repayment can be offset against profits on rental income for tax purposes. In fact, it is only the interest payable on the mortgage, not the capital repayment, that is deductible. A piece in The Times said that HMRC would be drawing on information from banks, tenants and letting adverts as part of its campaign. HMRC, however, has issued a statement denying that it is planning a tax crackdown in the way implied by the reports. Instead, it is intending to provide landlords with guidance and help. The statement said: “HMRC is planning to take a concerted approach to helping landlords of all descriptions (not just in the buy to let market) to understand and comply with their tax obligations in what they recognise to be a complex area. In taking this approach the explicit presumption will be that the majority of landlords want to make a correct return but that many may need some help to understand exactly how to do so. The approach, which was outlined to agent representatives in a recent workshop, will focus on giving landlords improved access to guidance and support so that they can understand how to calculate their own tax liabilities and, where there is tax to pay, using the lightest possible touch to ensure that the correct amount is paid.” The buy-to-let market has mushroomed in recent years as more people have taken advantage of a relaxing of the rules on purchasing rental property as an investment. It is estimated that there are now some 400,000 buy-to-let landlords in the UK.

The Will Centre Blog Launched

Launching a blog isn’t like launching a ship. No bottle of champagne to smash against the computer screen (far too messy and such a waste of champagne) and no boring speech (just a boring introduction like this one).

Here goes and make your god bless all who join in with her.

Alan Porter