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Sad news today – HRH Prince Philip has passed away
Sad news emerged today from Buckingham Palace as HRH Prince Philip has passed away. Losing a loved one is never easy but when it’s your spouse and you’ve been married for over 70 years I imagine it’s even harder. Having been in private practice dealing with estates and probate for over 30 years we often support people who have been grieving over the loss of a loved one whilst trying to sort out their affairs. In the past, we have written articles about what probate (or estate administration) is and what the responsibilities of an executor are but sometimes it’s just too raw and painful. If you’re dealing with…
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What you need to know about planning your funeral…
About funerals The cost of dying is reported on annually by Sunlife and it is repeatedly reported that the costs associated with dying are increasing year on year. This means it’s important to do what we can to reduce those costs, or where possible, fix those costs at today’s prices. It’s possible to fix those costs using a pre-paid funeral plan. What is a funeral plan? Whilst it’s possible to arrange a funeral post death, it’s often a difficult and challenging time for those left behind. This is why many people are putting a funeral plan in place. Not only does a funeral plan allow you to share your…
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The Order of St John
It is with tremendous pride that I am pleased to announce that I have had an invitation from Her Majesty The Queen. Throughout my career I have been a longstanding volunteer with St John Ambulance in Kent, mainly as a youth leader training young people in first aid. However since 2015, I have concentrated on Safeguarding, firstly as a District Safeguarding Officer, but since March 2020 I have decided to remain on the Safeguarding team to help support my colleagues. I never volunteered to get recognition but I am flattered to have been invited to become an officer of the Order of St John. Entry to the…
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Estate Administration explained
When someone passes away it can be a very challenging time and knowing what to do can be tough. Probate can sometimes seem like a bit of a maze so in this short article we have summarized the steps needed to wind up an estate. Bear in mind that we are unable to cover every aspect of the estate administration process so we have done a brief summary of the common steps: Register the Death Arrange the funeral When arranging the funeral check the Will to see if there are any wishes in the Will or to see if there is reference to a pre-paid funeral plan. Best to check…
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My partner will get everything anyway – I think…
This has to be one of the most common myths that I see as a Will Writer. “My partner will get everything any, I don’t need to write a will”. In this case, I always ask whether they are married and typically get the answer “no, but we live together and share everything”… When we investigate what this means and apply the law as it stands we often see a situation like this: Under the laws of intestacy, unmarried partners won’t inherit. If you own your home in your sole name and you pass away without a Will, then your live in partner won’t automatically inherit your home.…
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3 real clients we can learn from
In this article I am going to share 3 stories of real estate planning clients. We are sharing these stories to help educate about the need for effective estate planning but for client confidentiality, I have anonymised any names. These cases are unfortunate and I’m sure that after reading them, you will feel for the loved ones involved. Sideways disinheritance Figures indicate that over 42% of marriages end in divorce. It’s a harrowing statistic and we recognise that lots of people go on to remarry when they find happiness. This does present some challenges when we thing about estate planning and this is demonstrated by a client (Mrs Smith)…
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5 reasons to choose SLS Wills and More as your Will Writer
The profession of Will Writing is unregulated. Something that often confuses people. This means that you don’t need a solicitor to write your Will. You may choose to write your Will yourself, although I wouldn’t advise it. In this article I share 5 reasons why SLS Wills and More make a wise appointment when it comes to choosing the firm to write your Will. STEP Qualified Will Writer. Full TEP. To many people STEP will mean nothing but they are considered the leading authority when it comes to training and professional standards within estate planning and many solicitors and Will writers undertake training with them. STEP, according to their own…
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What does 2021 mean for estate planning?
ills What a year 2020 was. Lots of challenges and hurdles and unprecedented events too. It looks very much like 2021 will be filled with further challenges. For many of us the first challenge will be managing childcare and juggling work at the same time. When it comes to what this means for estate planning we can see in the news lots of cases where loved ones are passing away from the terrible virus and close family aren’t always able to be there. This must be incredibly hard and made worse in cases where it was completely unexpected. Lots of our newest clients have come to us because of their…
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3 Reasons to write a Will
Ultimate Control is achieved by writing your Will. SLS have written a short blog detailing 3 reasons to write your Will. These should be common sense but that still doesn’t explain why about 60% of the UK adult population don’t have a valid Will. I use the term valid because some well meaning people will have a Will but won’t realise that it’s invalid or a gift within it may fail. If you do decide to write a Will, please seek professional advice. Don’t rely on the ‘advice’ of your friend who says, you can write one yourself. Whilst, this may be the case, in writing it yourself…
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Equity Release
Hi, I’m Chris, Founder of Discover Equity Release based in Kent. I’ve been in financial services for almost 40 years, with the last 20 years working in the Equity Release sector. For many, public and professionals alike it is a bit of an unknown in the main, full of misunderstandings and myths. For instance the other day when I was speaking with a client, the first question they asked, was “I’m concerned that I can lose my home” something I felt needed to be addressed immediately and here I explained that there are no repayments to make with a Lifetime Mortgage, therefore you are unable to default and therefore you…
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