Resolute Wills

29/06/2025

Met with a nice couple this week, who had simple non-protective Wills in place and I carried out a review on their Wills.
Talked about the risks they currently have, which as they were leaving everything to each other on first death meant that their whole estate could end up going into another another family should the survivor of the two of them re-married or if the survivor needed to pay for their care in later life. Either of these two instances could mean their children ended up with nothing at all, or at best £23,250 (the amount left in the estate before the local authority starts paying the bill).

I set out their options- either Simple, non protective Will or they could sever the tenancy on their house to own it 50/50 and have a Protected Property Will trust in their Wills. This protects the 1st half of the property for the children but still allows the survivor of the two of them to live in the house for the rest of their days (and even move/ downsize). The survivor's half is still at risk from re-marriage or care fees, but the £175,000 1st half of the property will be secure for the children when the 2nd person of the couple either dies or goes into permanent care. Very sensible estate planning.

If you wish to discuss or wish me to review your own situation please call me on Tel: 07979184309 or visit my website www.resolutewills.co.uk where you can book your own appointment. Thank you.

Local Estate Planning services, delivering quality advice on Will Writing & Lasting Powers of Attorney. Take care of your legacy by writing your Will with Resolute Wills.

11/06/2025

Currently helping a couple put protection into their Wills for their severely autistic son. Their Wills currently leave their estate, on 2nd death, entirley to their son. The problem is that he is unable to manage his own money and also receiving a significant lump sum will mean his means tested benefits will stop.
I've discussed and set out their options and I'm in the process of drafting new Will's which includes a Property Protection Trust (PPT) and a Vulnerable Person's Trust (VPT).

This means on first death half of their property will be protected, to eventually go to their son and then on 2nd death the money goes into a VUlnerable Persons Trust & they have nominated trustees to help manage the inheritance money in their son's best interests and their son will keep all of his means tested benefits for housing, council tax etc.

This has taken a huge weight off their minds and put sensible protection in place for their son and his potential inheritance, but many people don't think this far ahead.

If you wish to discuss your own situation, please give me a call Tel: 07979 184309

05/06/2025

https://youtu.be/_sj4aSaT6Jg

There are two types of LPA. One covers money and property, and the other covers health and care.So what happens if you're suddenly unable to manage your own...

15/12/2023

Starting a conversation about lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) with family and friends can feel uncomfortable.

You may think family members can make decisions about your finances or health and welfare if you are no longer able to. This might be something like paying bills on your behalf. This is not the case and they would need legal authority to do so. Although it can be a challenging topic to discuss, having a registered LPA makes it easier for loved ones to support you when you need it most.

Someone who has created an LPA is known as the ‘donor’. Only the donor can make decisions about their LPA, such as choosing their attorneys. An attorney is the person chosen to act for the donor on an LPA.

Take this important step- call me for an initial chat on Tel: 07979 184309 or book an apointment

I will discuss, in confidence, with you: What you are hoping to achieve What you currently have in place in terms of a Will or LPA and I'm happy to review any existing Will to make sure it meets your current requirements What your immediate family tree looks like & who you wish to benefit from your

29/09/2023

29/09/2023

Did you know that almost a quarter of professionally-written Wills now include a charitable gift? {link to news piece - https://www.rememberacharity.org.uk/about-us/latest-news/one-in-four-professionally-written-wills-now-include-a-charitable-gift/}

As a Campaign Supporter, we are proud to help our clients look after all those things they care about in their Will; including family and good causes.

Speak to us today about – www.resolutewills.co.uk

I have gained a wealth of experience over the last 35 years in customer service and client facing roles and for the last 8 years have been a money advice specialist, helping people with their finances . This provides a solid foundation to deliver a thorough, top quality service in my role as an Esta...

23/09/2023

Some Key Reasons for having a Will in place:

1. Guardianship- Nominating a Guardian for your children, should those with Parental Rights pass away. The Will is the only way for you to do this and to ensure that YOUR chosen guardian looks after your children, if you (and the other parent) died, rather than the children going into care whilst the court decide.

2. Marriage- If you have a Will in place and get married then your Will is invalid, unless you had a "contemplation of marriage" clause written into it. Your estate will then be divided as per the "Intestacy Rules", should you die, which may not be as you wished it to happen, unless you get another Will drafted.

3. Protection- By having a professionally written Will and making use of Will Trusts you will be able to protect assets for the benefit of your children. If the survivor of a couple remarries, without adequate protection in place your assets could end up benefitting another family and not your own children.

If you wish to discuss any of these matters and look to see if your current Will provisions are adequate for your situation, please call me on Tel: 07979 184309 or message me for a chat or to arrange an appointment to look at your situation.

27/07/2023

Bereaved families and professional providers are continuing to face delays with probate applications. Kings Court Trust’s latest blog highlights statistics from the recent Family Court Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2023 publication. Additionally, they provide an update on Kings Court Trus...

27/07/2023

The Gazette, the UK’s official public record, is today reminding Today’s Wills and Probate readers that they can access a free client guide to support them when recommending deceased estates notices. The free guide is split into a series of frequently asked questions: What is a deceased estates ...

27/07/2023

Today sees an increase in the Statutory Legacy fixed sum amount from £270,000 to £322,000 which has an impact on intestacy cases. The Statutory Legacy is relevant when an individual dies intestate leaving behind a surviving spouse or civil partner and any children. To reflect these changes, we’v...

17/07/2023

Nearly 128,000 Lasting Power of Attorney's have been rejected by the OPG over the last 5 years!
Top 5 reasons for rejection are:

1. Incorrect signing order: The donor, certificate provider or attorneys have not signed and dated the LPAs in the correct order – the donor must sign the LPAs first, then the certificate provider, then the attorneys, and thereafter, the person registering the LPA must sign again (either the attorney or the donor). Parties often sign the LPAs in the wrong order, which is not allowed.

2. Missing information: This is often the date that the donor, attorneys, or certificate provider have signed the LPAs, or sometimes their signatures have not been witnessed. The LPAs must be completed in their entirety before they can be submitted to the OPG to be registered.

3. Incorrect witnesses: Parties often use witnesses to witness signatures who are not allowed to be used – for example, an attorney cannot witness the signature of a donor because there is a conflict of interest in doing so.

4. Unworkable LPA requests: The donor might appoint attorneys to make decisions one way, and then include instructions to make them act differently, making the LPAs unworkable– for example, if you have three attorneys appointed in your LPA, and the LPA says attorneys should act “jointly and severally”, you cannot then include an instruction in the LPA to say that decisions are made by majority vote, as by acting jointly and severally, all of the Attorneys have equal power to act and make decisions.

5. Not providing full names: Parties often submit LPAs without giving the full information required – for example, witnesses often cause an LPA to be rejected by not noting their full details on the LPAs– the witnesses must give their full name (including their full middle names), and not just their initials with their surname. This is important as banks and other financial institutions may refuse to grant the attorney access to funds if there are spelling mistakes or discrepancies in the documentation.

Get it right first time- call in a professional to prepare the LPA documents and manage the process for you.

Richard Curtis (Resolute Wills) Tel: 07979 184309 or email Richard.Curtis@resolutewills.co.uk