Protect Your Wealth

from Cardiff Times September 2021

Joe Calzaghe the Undefeated

by Michael Fogg

As a solicitor I am often asked for advice on a variety of areas of the law. These questions range from contract disputes to employment problems, personal injury and property matters with a variety of other questions added in.

I do my level best to help everyone who asks me anything, although quite often the questions fall outside of my area of expertise. Therefore, this month, I thought I’d give a breakdown of what I specialise in as a ‘Private Client’ lawyer.

Will Writing Making a Will is usually a very simple thing to do. Anyone over the age of 18 can do so, and it is almost always advisable to put a Will in place. However, well over 50% of adults in the United Kingdom do not have a Will, and this can have negative consequences on their death.

I advise clients on the most appropriate Will, or Wills, to suit their needs. This could include a simple ‘Single Will’ for one person, or a simple ‘Mirror Will’ for two persons, leaving everything to each other and then to their ‘alternative’ benefi ciaries. I advise on any risks which are easily avoided and which could otherwise take a lot of their hard-earned money out of the family. I also advise on the risks of ‘sideways disinheritance’, where the surviving spouse remarries and the Will they made with their original spouse is revoked by this marriage (this is an area of the law governing Wills which is often overlooked and can cause some diffi culties after the Testator passes).

In some cases, a variation of a ‘Single Will’ or ’Mirror Will’ may be a sensible solution, potentially with some additional protection for some or all of the assets being left. This could take the form of one or more Trusts. Alternatively, I may suggest a different way of legally capturing a client’s wishes and ensuring that their assets are passed to their chosen benefi ciaries.

Settling Assets into Trust In addition to using a Trust to take effect after they have died, many clients are also interested in placing some of their assets in Lifetime Trusts.

Unlike Will Trusts, which are created after death, Lifetime Trusts (also known as Land Management Trusts or Wealth Security Trusts) are created immediately. I advise on the pros and cons of taking this step, for example by settling a property (either their home or an investment property) into the legal ownership of a Trust. Clients may be surprised, for example, to discover that they may need to pay some rent to the Trust to maximise its tax effi ciency if they continue to live at the property.

I also advise on the limits to what a Lifetime Trust can do. For example, a client cannot use a Trust to “hide” their assets for Estate Planning purposes, as there are rules which HM Revenue and Customs have to offset some assets placed in Trust with Inheritance Tax paid in the future. Likewise, should they need to receive professional care, either at their home or by moving into a nursing home, their contribution to these fees is based on the value of your assets. Should they put some of their assets into a Trust, a Local Authority (“LA”) might decide that this is a ‘Deliberate Deprivation of Assets’. If they do, the value of the Trust property could be included

Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPAs”) This involves assisting clients who wish to nominate trusted family or friends to make decisions on their behalf, either relating to their property and finances, to their health and welfare, or both.

Often, people who lose the ability to make decisions for themselves can leave their loved ones in a very difficult position as they may not be able to do such basic things as discussing a utility bill, or far more weighty matters such as deciding on where their loved one should live.

I advise clients on how to apply for their powers to be donated to their chosen Attorneys, when LPAs are able to be used, and on the process for registering the LPAs with the Office of the Public Guardian (amongst many other things – everything is pretty straightforward to understand when explained clearly).

Estate Administration (AKA ‘Probate’) Here, I help clients who have been left with the responsibility for finalising the financial and personal matters left when a loved one dies. As I explained in a previous article, this work can be simply broken down 1) Arranging the funeral; 2) Valuing the Estate; 3) Obtaining legal authority (if required) from the Probate Registry; 4) Paying off any Estate debts; 5) Distributing the Estate to beneficiaries.

If the Probate Registry need to provide legal authority for the Estate to be administered by my clients, any Inheritance Tax (“IHT”) due from the Estate will need to be put in hand before the Grant is issued.

Contacting Me

If you would like any help or advice on anything mentioned above, we would be happy to answer any questions by phone or email.

I am also happy to hear from any local community groups who feel that they may benefit from my attending to provide a free talk on any of my specialist areas.

Please get in touch on 029 2021 1693 or by emailing