7 minute read
News
LEGAL
Sarah Austin
Austins Solicitors
The two certainties in life are death and taxes. Neither of which you can avoid but you can mitigate.
Austins is a STEP accredited practice specialising in trusts, estates and wills. We use our specialist skills to draft bespoke deeds, trusts and wills.
This enables our clients and their families to better organise their property and finances.
WILLS
Without a valid will, assets could pass according to the intestacy rules that automatically apply. This could lead to misunderstandings, claims or even leave the estate vulnerable to expensive court proceedings. As you would not have provided your specific instructions on anything from your funeral arrangements, to charity donations or trusts for children or gifts outside your family.
Your spouse or civil partner doesn’t automatically inherit all of your estate. Unmarried partners have no automatic rights at all under the intestacy rules.
Depending on your circumstances, they may have to share the estate with other relatives. So a professionally drafted Will is a valuable and considerate asset.
It ensures succession certainty and tax efficiency.
We offer will drafting for a fixed fee and discounts are offered where we draft two wills at the same time. So you can dovetail your wishes.
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
Following on from that theme Lasting Powers of Attorney LPA) are an essential tool to be considered at the same time as your wills. As you can only draft a LPA if you have the mental capacity to do so.
It enables you to instruct an individual (attorney) to act on your behalf, in respect of your property and affairs or regarding your health and welfare. It can last a lifetime or until you cancel it. You have the power to authorise your choice of individuals to assist you if you are temporarily or permanently incapacitated by illness, dementia or mobility issues.
Our clients find it reassuring that their affairs can be managed efficiently and without delay when required. During the current pandemic it has been even more in demand and used extensively.
Without a LPA your family would need to apply to Office of the Public Guardian to apply to act on someone’s behalf. It is a costly and lengthy procedure that can take months, when you most need assistance. You don’t get to control who manages your affairs and in exceptional cases the applicant can be a local authority.
Again Austins can guide and assist you to prepare a bespoke LPA according to your wishes and needs for a reasonable fixed fee.
Sarah Austin TEP
Building 3 Chiswick Business Park 566 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London W4 5YA Tel: 0800 3777716 (+44203 858 0041) Fax 08456 583635 | www.austinsandco.co.uk
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news National recognition for financial services specialist
Neelkanth Safe Deposit has been recognised as a leading player in the safe deposit industry after being invited to participate in a parliamentary review on financial services.
The company was highlighted as an outstanding example of best practice in the sector, as the By Mukesh Malhotra, chair of Thamesbank Credit Union Payroll partners are employers who work with their local credit union to offer a range of financial services to the workforce as a perk of employment. Credit union payroll partners link with organisations large and small, demonstrating their commitment to social responsibility and their staff’s financial wellbeing. By becoming a payroll partner, employers support the financial welfare of their staff by encouraging them to save or borrow responsibly. country prepares for life after Brexit from early next year.
Chamber member, Neelkanth Safe Deposit was established by the late Chandrakant Pujara and his nephew Kumar Pujara in 2014, when they opened an affordable safe deposit locker facility in the heart of Southall, West London. Their idea was to build a series of safe deposit centres around London to provide local communities with secure facilities where they could keep their valuables safe at affordable rates.
The philanthropic zeal at the heart of their philosophy led them to direct any profit from the business to the community by donating to the Sarjudas Foundation, a charity that supports diverse community initiatives.
In 2014, the company enlisted the services of Anant Barchha as senior executive to take the business from a single proprietary unit to a multibranch corporate structure. He brought with him 30 years of senior experience in international banking, of which two decades were spent working with large global custodians in a variety of senior roles. Anant has been the driving force behind the development of Neelkanth Safe Deposit into a leading institution within the financial services industry.
The Southall facility now has a capacity of 15,000 lockers and is one of Europe’s largest safe deposit centres. A second facility, which opened in Croydon in September 2019, has a capacity of 7,000 lockers to support communities in South London and plans for further branches are in the pipeline.
For further information, visit
Chamber member, Credit union payroll partners bring business benefits
https://www.neelkanthsafedeposit.com/ One of the key services offered to the workforce is the payroll savings scheme. This allows staff to save money by having a nominal sum of money taken from their salary and placed into a savings account – before they have the chance to miss or spend it.
Payroll saving can be an incredibly effective tool to ensure there’s money set aside for a planned event or an unexpected bill.
Here’s how payroll savings work:
Staff set the amount they wish to save and written authority is provided to the payroll processor in the organisation
This amount is deducted from payroll each month and a schedule sent to the credit union to allocate deposits to the staff member’s credit union savings account
Staff request withdrawals direct from the credit union
There is no cost or risk to the employer
Along with savings, your staff will also be able to access credit union loans should they need them. By borrowing from a credit union, staff are accessing a service with affordable interest rates, helping them to avoid high-cost credit and payday lenders.
As credit unions are not-for-profit community savings and loan providers, the money saved benefits the members, local community and economy, not third-party shareholders.
By joining their credit union, staff may also access perks such as free life insurance. They may also have rights to have a say in how their credit union is managed and, profits permitting, receive an annual dividend.
