Will Writing & Trust Services
Wiseman Wingate Solicitors are trusted Solicitors based in Essex with over 30 years’ experience in Will writing and establishing Trusts. We can offer expert advice on preparing a Will, establishing Trusts and other estate planning services such as Deputyships and Lasting Powers of Attorney.
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Will Writing Services
What is a Will
A Will is a legal document you create in your lifetime to decide what happens to your estate (this includes your money, property and possessions) after you die. It can also provide details of your funeral directions and who you would like to be guardian of any children you may have.
Do I Need a Will?
Quite simply, yes.
Many people understand the importance of having a Will, yet a significant proportion of adults still do not have one in place.
Making a Will ensures that your wishes are clearly recorded and that the people and causes you care about are provided for in the way you intend.
Don’t leave it until it is too late; approximately 70% of people die without having a will, meaning they have no say as to how their assets are distributed as the law of intestacy applies.
You can make a Will at any time in your adult life. However, you should seriously consider making or amending your Will when any of the following apply:
- Get married or enter into a long-term relationship
- Have children or grandchildren
- Own or are buying a property
- Start or sell a business
- Divorce or separate
- Wish to protect a vulnerable family member — we offer advice on Court of Protection Deputyships
- Wish to leave a gift to a friend, charity, or other beneficiary
- Experience significant changes in health, finances, or family circumstances
Making a Will
Any will you draft will need to meet a number of requirements to be legally valid. It is also important to consider and minimise the risk of possible disputes between your loved ones once you have passed away.
We can ensure that your Will meets these requirements and all the relevant circumstances can be discussed so that you are confident that your loved ones are taken care of and your wishes are carried out.
Updating a Will
A Will can be made at any point during your lifetime, providing you are 18 or over.
It is likely that, over the course of your life, your circumstances change and, therefore, it is important to review your will periodically and make changes as soon as possible, when necessary. For example, when you get married or divorced, have children, start or buy a business, or there are other significant changes to your estate that need to be accounted for.
Hopefield Animal Sanctuary & Visitor Centre
We are proud to partner with Hopefield Animal Sanctuary, a valued part of the Essex community that has been rescuing, rehabilitating and caring for animals since 1983.
As part of our partnership, we are pleased to offer a complimentary one-hour Will Drafting Consultation, either online or in person, when you make a £25 donation to this wonderful charity.
This consultation provides a valuable opportunity to receive expert advice on planning for the future, including preparing or reviewing your Will, and ensuring your assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes.
At the same time, your £25 donation will help provide ongoing support for the rescued animals, helping them enjoy safe, happy and healthy lives.
Once your donation has been received, a member of the Wiseman Wingate team will contact you to arrange your consultation. This will include a provisional information gathering appointment and a follow-up consultation with a solicitor.
Trust Services
This is different for everyone, with no one size fits all.
We will take the time to discuss with you the needs of your dependants and work out with you what provisions are needed for the future. Setting up a Trust can complete your will provision or be completed as a standalone provision.
Protect Your Assets For Your Loved Ones with a Trust
A Will comes into effect upon your death, a Trust document will often come into effect before your death.
To protect your assets for the benefit of your loved ones a regular review (at least once a year) should be undertaken. Examples of issues to be considered are:
- Care fees charged by Local Authorities — if your assets (including your home) come to more than £23,250, your assets can be used to contribute to your care fees. Provisions can be made which help to reduce or eliminate care fees to be paid.
- Payment of Inheritance Tax — tax planning during life can help to reduce or eliminate payments to HMRC.
- Capital Gains Tax — if disposals were made in your life that gave rise to a Capital Gains Tax liability after the application of various exemptions or reliefs, a charge to Capital Gains Tax may arise.
- On death, there is no disposal of assets and your assets will be deemed to be acquired by the personal representative for a consideration equal to the assets’ market value at the date of death. Since there is deemed acquisition but no deemed disposal, no Capital Gains Tax liability arises as a result of death.
When preparing Wills and Trust documents, we take into account and try to mitigate the effect of legislation that will reduce the size of your estate as a result of the payment of tax.
How can we help?
We can provide you a service that will ensure your mind is at ease that your estate has been left in line with your wishes.
We offer a professional and bespoke service as we understand everyone’s needs are different.
Making a will or setting up a Trust can seem very daunting but we will support you through the process and explain all the options to you in plain English and ensure you fully understand the process.
If you want to talk to us about making a Will or setting up a Trust, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us. We offer these services on a fixed fee basis so you can be sure of the costs involved.
Will & Trust FAQs
What is involved in preparing a Will
A Wiseman Wingate colleague contacts you to complete a detailed form gathering initial information and your instructions. Wiseman Wingate Solicitors draft the will and send you a draft version — a deposit payment is taken at this stage. A meeting is undertaken with a solicitor.
The final Will is prepared and sent — final payment is taken at this stage. Once the draft is agreed, we will make an appointment with you to arrange execution of the Will at our Brentwood office.
Why do you need a Will?
Without a Will, on your death your assets will be passed to certain beneficiaries prescribed by law, known as the rules of intestacy. You will have no control over who receives your estate or how it is divided.
A Will gives you peace of mind, knowing you have made it as easy as possible for someone to administer your estate as you have directed their assets to go to who you wish to benefit from them. In addition, by having a Will in place, you can ensure you have maximised the inheritance tax reliefs and exemptions, so that more of your estate goes to your loved ones rather than the taxman.
The only way to ensure that your estate goes to your intended beneficiaries is to have a Will.
How to ensure your assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes
If you do not have a Will, the Rules of Intestacy apply in accordance with the Administration of Estates Act. The Rules of Intestacy do not give a spouse an automatic right to all of your estate.
You may wish to make gifts to individuals who are not part of your immediate family, or gifts of different sizes to members of your family. You may also wish to reduce or exclude the entitlement of an estranged family member.
Worried your Will might get lost?
There’s no need to worry — all our wills are registered and stored with the Probate Service of HM Courts & Tribunals.
Whilst you can, if you wish, keep your Will at home or have it stored by us, we recommend that the Will is deposited at the Probate Service. This will make it easy for your dependants, in the event of your death, to find your Will, as they merely have to contact the Probate Service.
As part of our service, we undertake the task of lodging the Will and any accompanying documentation with the Probate Service. A small fee is charged by the Probate Service for storing the Will.
Do you have a disabled family member?
Families with a disabled loved one who lacks mental capacity, whether an adult or a child, can find out how to secure their future. We can advise on how you can protect them when you are gone.
We can provide the legal framework — Wills, Trusts, Deputyship and more — to ensure your assets are protected for the benefit of your loved one.
Does your loved one require a Trust for a vulnerable person?
There are circumstances where it is appropriate to set up a Trust for a vulnerable loved one, such as someone with learning difficulties or another form of disability, mental or physical, during your lifetime. A few of the benefits of a vulnerable person Trust are:
- A Trust will allow relatives, such as grandparents, to make gifts to the vulnerable person during their relative’s lifetime.
- The Trust will protect the vulnerable person’s right to welfare benefits.
- It ensures that monies and assets in the Trust are used for the benefit of the vulnerable person.
Click here to read more about Deputyship and protecting a vulnerable person’s interest.
Do you need to protect a vulnerable person’s interest?
It is estimated that 1.1 million people in this country would benefit from advice on how to protect their family assets for a loved one who suffers from learning disabilities.
Common reasons people don’t seek advice include not being aware that legal mechanisms exist to protect family assets for the benefit of a disabled loved one — whether a child or an adult — and worrying about what will happen to a son or daughter when parents are no longer able to look after them.
In most circumstances, the worst thing you can do is make an outright gift to the disabled loved one; setting up a Trust for them is usually the best course of action. Don’t make the mistake of not finding out what you can do to protect family assets for the benefit of your disabled loved one.
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