Estate Planning
What is Estate Planning?
Asset protection is the process of safeguarding your assets during your lifetime to maximise your tax allowances and ensure that your hard-earned assets go to your loved ones or the charitable organisations that you want the asset to go to. It also means safeguarding and future proofing your assets from potential Inheritance Act claims and challenges. This can be done through a variety of methods, including setting up inter-vivos (living) trusts, creating Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) or corporations and making lifetime gifts to your loved ones.
Hillary Cooper Law
go above and beyond
to get you the desired
legal outcome
How can Hillary Cooper Law help with Estate Planning?
Hillary Cooper Law can help you create a comprehensive plan that is tailored to your specific needs and goals. We will work with you to identify your assets and determine the best methods for safeguarding them. We can also help you set up the Trusts and legal Vehicles required to facilitate your planning. We will also work collaboratively with Tax Advisors and other experts to achieve your goals and minimise the risks associated with estate planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you find yourself in this position, you are not to worry! The court can appoint someone to be your deputy. There are conditions for one to apply for this role to be satisfied, they will need to be over the age of 18 and there shall be no objections to you being appointed.
The topics of prenups exhibit the importance of having a competent lawyer at your side. Prenups are not legally binding under UK law, however, if drafted accurately, they may be taken into consideration in the event of divorce proceedings.
The difference is as explanatory as it sounds! A prenuptial agreement is signed by bother parties before the couple’s marriage, whereas a postnuptial agreement is signed after the marriage.
Although both are not legally binding, if they are drafted correctly and accurately, they may carry significant weight in the event of divorce proceedings.
In this unfortunate circumstance, any gifts to the deceased beneficiary will “lapse”. The term “lapse” refers to the gift passing to the estate to be distributed according to the deceased beneficiary will if the beneficiary dies after the testator.
If the beneficiary dies before the testator, their gift will become void and return its original estate to be distributed amongst the remaining beneficiaries.
When one dies, the assets that have been left behind are considered a person’s estate. These assets may include property, money, personal belongings, art etc.
The role of the executor of the will has a legal obligation to identify any beneficiaries in order to carry out any obligations in accordance with the will. This process is done using a “Grant of Probate” or a “Grant of Letters of Administration”.
But why would one want to stop this process? If a will is challenged based on its validity, it may then be necessary to stop a grant of probate to investigate further. An option to apply for a Caveat at the Probate Registry (if you are over 18 years old) is available to stop the grant of probate. A Caveat is issued if a person has reasonable grounds for challenging a will. The Caveat works to stop the distribution of the estate and letters of administration from progressing for six months.
Many may assume that if your spouse dies without a will, you are entitled to his estate. Unfortunately, the law can be tricky around these areas. Spouses are not automatically entitled to receive all their partner’s estate, only personal possessions subject to whether children are involved. If there are no children, grandchildren or great children, a spouse is entitled to their deceased partner’s property when there is no will made.