Will Writing. Is DIY A Good Idea?

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A Will is one of the most important documents you will ever make but an increasing number of people are preparing homemade Wills, possibly in an attempt to cut costs. Although DIY Wills are relatively inexpensive, the legal costs involved to remedy their potential errors may well exceed the cost of a professionally prepared Will. Moreover, it may not be possible to rectify mistakes that are discovered after your death.

What are the dangers of a DIY Will?

Off-the-shelf DIY Will kits are often poorly written, leading to confusion over what assets have been left and to whom. Common errors that can occur in the process of making a DIY Will include incorrectly signing or witnessing the Will, which renders the document invalid. Furthermore, a beneficiary can compromise their inheritance by acting as a witness.

If a Solicitor or professional will-writer has not been involved in the preparation of the Will, then there has been no ‘independent evidence’ that the Will represents the deceased’s true wishes and that they had capacity to make it. This encourages costly and lengthy contentious probate litigation.

Even if you successfully avoid these pitfalls and create a valid document using a homemade Will, there is always the possibility that nobody is able to locate your Will when it is needed. By using a regulated Law Firm, not only can you be certain your Will contains your exact wishes and instructions, you can be confident your Will will be stored safely. Most law firms will allow you to store your Will in their strong room free of charge.

Who is at risk?

Everyone is at risk of being cheated by salesmen offering to write Wills and establish Trusts at low prices, but it is the elderly who are frequently targeted by Will-writing companies who often apply high pressure selling techniques.

Our advice

Do not be tempted to cut corners when it comes to writing your Will. Doing so could result in high legal costs or, at worst, an invalid Will. The cost of a professionally written Will includes the advice given by a solicitor, who is subject to regulation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, unlike many Will-writers who are not legally qualified or governed by regulation. Seek the help of regulated Solicitors and relax with the peace of mind that your wishes will be carried out.

 

Hayley Ford, Solicitor Wills & Probate Department

Congratulations to Teresa Pitts

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Congratulations and gifts were given to one of our staff members, Teresa Pitts, to celebrate her 60th birthday. 

As she is out of the office tomorrow (her birthday) we celebrated a day early.

Teresa Pitts of Adams Harrison Celebrates Birthday

Teresa Pitts of Adams Harrison Celebrates A Special Birthday

Sawston Fun Run 2019

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Adams Harrison, sponsors of the Sawston Fun Run, entered a team of 12 on Sunday 12th May.

There were some 1100 runners taking part. Adams Harrison had two runners – Rebecca Dedman who achieved 17th place for her age group and Jack Edwards (Sue’s grandson) who achieved 25th in his age group with a time of 40 minutes.

As for the rest of the team we were collecting money and handing out flags on our way round and the last member came in some 47 minutes on the shorter route.

The Adams Harrison Team At The Sawston Fun Run 2019

The Adams Harrison Team At The Sawston Fun Run 2019

This is what you call going for it 5 miles round the streets of Sawston all in aid of Charity

This is what you call going for it 5 miles round the streets of Sawston all in aid of Charity

Law Society’s Legal Excellence Standard (Lexcel) For 20th Year

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Lexcel Logo

Adams Harrison are very pleased to announce that we have attained our re-accreditation to the Law Society’s Legal Excellence Standard (Lexcel) for the 20th year, having originally achieved the standard in 1999.    

We were commended for 36 areas of good practice and highly commended for sustaining a very high level of compliance against the standard. 

We were also highly commended for our approach to the development and implementation of our Community and Social Responsibility Policy by attending local schools, providing advice in Careers Events about the legal profession and helping pupils understand the workplace and recruitment into the sector. As well as supporting a number of local events and charities.

The audit commented on the excellent calibre and high morale of our  staff.

Our assessor stated that there was clear evidence that we continue to place very significant emphasis on the levels of client care that we provide.  He stated that it was evident from the files he reviewed that levels of client care were excellent.

Why make a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?

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Lasting Powers of Attorney could be considered as a type of insurance. Hopefully they would never be needed but if they are you are in a much better position for having taken one out.

A Lasting Power of Attorney can protect you and your assets if you became incapable of managing your own affairs.

You can become incapable of managing your affairs through various means and they are not just for the elderly. Illnesses such as dementia or Alzheimer’s are often the main reason for needing the document but they can be needed after an accident, stroke or other illness not just limited to the elderly.

You can only make a Lasting Power of Attorney while you have full capacity. They may or may not ever be needed. You do not lose the ability to manage your own affairs; they are only used if necessary and will only be used with your permission or upon receipt of a report from a medical professional to say that you can no longer manage your affairs. If you were to become incapable of managing your affairs and you do not have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, your family would have to go through the lengthy and costly procedure of obtaining a Deputyship Order.

There are two forms of Lasting Power of Attorney. One is for your property and financial affairs which enables you to appoint someone to look after your finances if you become incapable. The other is for your health and welfare under which you can appoint someone to make decisions about medical treatment, where you live etc.

If you wish to discuss making a Lasting Power of Attorney either for Property and Financial Affairs or Health and Welfare, please contact one of our private client team who would be very happy to assist you.

For further advice or assistance please contact our Private Client Department

Lifetime Individual Savings Accounts (LISAs) for First Time Residential Purchases

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We are often asked by our clients if we can assist them if they have a Lifetime Individual Savings Account ( a ‘LISA’) and whether they can use the funds held in a LISA for purchasing a property. The answer to whether we can assist is ‘yes’ but the answer to whether the funds can be used in a purchase transaction depend on a number of factors.

As a bit of background information, a LISA can be opened by anyone who is between 18 and 39 years of age. A person can contribute up to £4,000 a year into the LISA, until the person is 50 years of age. The government will add a 25% bonus (up to a maximum of £1,000 per year) to those savings. You can have stocks, shares, or cash in a LISA.

The funds held in a LISA can be withdrawn at anytime, however, the funds can only be withdrawn without incurring a 25% penalty in certain circumstances. These circumstances include a first time residential purchase where some additional conditions are met.

For a first time residential purchase, the funds in a LISA can be used without deduction where the funds are being put towards the purchase price, the purchase price of the property is no more than £450,000.00, the amount withdrawn is no greater than the purchase price of the property, you will live in the property as your primary residence, and the property is purchased with a mortgage (not a buy to let mortgage), and the first payment into the Lifetime ISA was made at least 12 months ago.

There are additional forms and declarations that need to be completed, both by you and by your solicitor, so it is wise to advise your solicitor that you have a LISA and intend to use the funds early in your transaction.

Please contact us if you require any further information regarding the above at [email protected]

Whitney Jacque, Solicitor

Congratulations to Kelsey Ling

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Congratulations to Kelsey Ling our junior secretary who had completed her apprenticeship with us and is now working in the Family Department. 

Passing this latest Pitmans test is another feather to her cap.

Pitman Certificate for Kelsey Ling of Adams Harrison

Lease Renewals and Other Business Renewals in the Current Market

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With most commercial leases containing upwards only rent review clauses, the renewal of the lease is often the only opportunity available to a tenant to reduce the rent.

Unlike rent review clauses which are almost inevitably drafted on up an “upwards only” basis, a tenant who has a right to claim a new lease at the end of its contractual term, has a right to claim that the lease on the same terms as the existing lease except as to rent, which is to be a market rent.

The current state of the commercial property market means that many tenants are securing renewals at significantly reduced rents. How much a reduction will depend on the date of the last review, the location of the property and of course the relative bargaining skills of the landlord’s and the tenant’s surveyors instructed on the review.

When approaching a lease renewal, landlords and tenants should seek the advice of both their solicitors and surveyors at the earliest opportunity.

The landlord should consider whether it is in his interest to trigger renewal procedures or to leave these in the hands of the tenant and similarly the tenant will need to consider whether it should trigger renewal procedures or just let the lease continue. This decision is often difficult for a landlord who may have to consider whether he wants the security of income offered by a long lease, even if renewal means he suffers a substantial reduction in income.

The tenant will need to consider whether it is in his interest to commit himself to the costly process of renewing his lease or, particularly if he only has short term requirement to allow the lease to continue, albeit at an inflated rent.

When considering these issues, a tenant can be comforted by knowing that he is not committed to taking a new lease by either the landlord instigating or the tenant instigating the renewal procedures. On the other hand a landlord needs to be aware that if the tenant, who has a right to a new lease under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, requires such a new lease, then as long as that tenant meets all the statutory time limits he will obtain a new lease unless the landlord can prove one of the statute grounds of opposition.
If the landlord wishes to recover possession of premises and oppose the tenant’s claim to a new lease, the landlord should seek the early advice of his solicitor about the available grounds of opposition, and have the basis of his case prepared, before he triggers the renewal procedures.

At Adams Harrison we have had a considerable experience in advising both landlords and tenants on business lease renewals, both on a contested and an un-contested basis and if you require advice or guidance you should contact Rhodri Rees at Haverhill on [email protected] or Richard Booth at Saffron Walden on [email protected]

 

Inheritance Tax and The New Residential Allowance

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The Inheritance Tax Allowance is still currently £325,000.00 per person. However in April 2017 a new allowance was introduced called the Residential Nil Rate Band. This allowance is currently £125,000.00 per person reaching the maximum allowance of £175,000.00 by the tax year 2020/2021.

If an estate is left to a spouse or civil partner then there is no inheritance tax payable because of spouse exemption. Therefore the allowance can transfer to the surviving spouse’s estate. On the death of the surviving spouse/civil partner his or her estate will benefit from an allowance of £325,000.00 plus £175,000.00 (if the death is after 2020) plus the transferable nil rate band and the transferable residential nil rate band which were not previously used of the same amount. This will give a combined allowance of £1,000,000.00 before inheritance tax is payable.

There are certain criteria required to be eligible for the Residential Nil Rate Band Allowance and Tapering Relief for estates of a certain value

For more information please contact our private client department.

Love is in the air at the Sawston office

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Love is in the air at the Sawston office – two engagements in a matter of months:-

Paige Doran and Fiancé Aaron

Paige Doran and Fiancé Aaron

 

Paige Doran secretary to Lisa Thornhill got engaged on 27th December to fiancé Aaron in a surprise engagement on 27th December in Paris.

Cazz Rice and Fiancé Gary

Cazz Rice and Fiancé Gary

 

Cazz Rice, secretary to Rebecca Dedman got engaged to fiancé Gary on Tuesday 2nd April – again a complete surprise on their 2 year anniversary.

 

We wish them all the best for their future lives together