A person who sustains injury as a result of a crime of violence where their own conduct has not in any way contributed to the injury; sustained injury whilst taking an exceptional and justified risk for the purpose of preventing a crime.

If you need to go into a care home, the local authority will financially assess you to see if you need to pay for your own fees. An effective way to protect your home from being included in the financial assessment is via life interest trusts (LITs). You can do LITs in your Wills if you own a property in joint names with someone (e.g., your spouse) as tenants in common. The effect of the LIT is that when the first of you dies, the survivor can continue living in the property for life but if they go into a care home, only their half of the property is included in their financial assessment. This is because the deceased’s half of the property is left to the ultimate beneficiaries in the LIT (e.g., your children). Therefore, at least half of the property value is ringfenced for the ultimate beneficiaries.

Care fees:
If you transfer your home into someone else’s name and the sole intention is to avoid the payment of care home fees, the council will deem the transfer to be a “deliberate deprivation of assets”. If the local authority believes a transfer has occurred for this reason, it can place a charge against the property so that care fees are repaid when the property is sold. There is no time limit on this after which it is OK to transfer a property – the local authority can go back as far as they like.

Tax implications:
A transfer of property, in which you are living, to your children can be regarded by HMRC as a “gift with reservation of benefit”. This means that even after seven years have elapsed, it can be treated as part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes. Some people think that they can avoid this if they pay a nominal rent to their children. However, the rules are extremely strict and it is necessary to ensure that the rent paid it a full market rent and that there are regular rent reviews. This is not a comprehensive list of the rules which would apply.

Other consequences:
There can be other unforeseen consequences. For instance, should your child subsequently get into financial difficulty and be made bankrupt, this could result in the trustee in bankruptcy calling for your home to be sold. In addition, if your home is transferred into a child’s name and then that child divorces, their share of the home may form part of their divorce settlement.

A deed of variation (DOV) can be used to vary a Will or the intestacy rules after someone dies, within two years of the date of death. DOVs are often used to change the beneficiaries of an estate or the gifts themselves. A DOV cannot help someone to avoid paying care fees as such, and the effect on inheritance tax (IHT) must also be considered.

Yes. It is perfectly normal and perfectly legal to name the same person or people as both an executor and a beneficiary in your will.

Yes, if the first part of the couple has passed away, the surviving spouse can move to another property of their choice. If there are any access funds left over, there is then a choice as to what happens with these funds. These monies can either be paid out. These monies would be split as follows - half to the survivor out of the couple and the other half to the ultimate beneficiaries. The ultimate beneficiaries would be those named in the Will who are to receive the half of the property belonging to the part of the couple who has passed away first. A common example would be children. The other option is that the monies are invested into a Trust account. The latter is a better option for inheritance tax purposes.

Yes, you can appoint multiple attorneys. You can also specify if you want them to make decisions jointly or if they can act independently.

No, an LPA must be set up by the individual while they still have the mental capacity to understand the implications of their decision.

Where an adult needs to go into a care home, any property they own will be considered by the local authority in their financial assessment to see if they have to pay for their own care fees, unless it is deemed part of the mandatory disregards. Subject to certain conditions, from April 2015 a property must be disregarded from the financial assessment if the person’s child is living there and is: aged over 60; aged under 18; or incapacitated. Therefore, it is as if the person going into care does not own the property so it is not counted in their financial assessment and the child can continue to live there.

While doctors often consult with family members for insights into a patient's wishes, without an LPA, they are not legally bound to follow the family's decisions. An LPA ensures that the appointed attorney's decisions are legally recognised and followed.

You can apply for probate without a solicitor: however, it is a good idea to get legal advice if you do not understand the will, or where the estate is complicated.

As part of the process of applying for probate, you will need to calculate the value of the deceased’s estate which includes everything they own. In addition, you will need to calculate the inheritance tax (IHT) due. This can become complicated when someone has left assets held in trusts or overseas, or where the deceased owned a business for instance.

Executors are personally responsible for correctly administering an estate, including accurately valuing the assets and calculating the right taxes, settling any debts, and distributing to the beneficiaries. If this is done incorrectly, executors can be held personally and financially liable. Instructing a solicitor gives the executor peace of mind and protection if anything goes wrong.

Yes, if you are aged over 18 and have assets. This is because a will is the only way you can make sure that your wishes will be carried out after your death.

You only need to change your will if you change address if you have made a specific gift of that property in your will.

Yes. Entering into marriage or civil partnership after you made a will automatically revokes your will unless it was made specifically in contemplation of marriage or civil partnership and states that it is not to be revoked by the marriage or civil partnership.

Winston Solicitors do not charge for storing your will but some firms may.

If the couple are both still alive and one of them moves into a care home, the matrimonial home would not be included as part of the financial assessment as it would be part of the mandatory disregard. This means the part of the couple not in the care home could continue to live in the property as normal.

Yes, but only when the first part of the couple has passed away. A life interest trust is a Will trust (rather than a lifetime trust) meaning it only needs to be registered once the first part of the couple has passed away. The trust would be registered with the Trust Registration Service at HMRC. This is something we would be more than capable of assisting clients with.

Yes but there are consequences. We can advise you on the implications both good and bad.

It's crucial to discuss your wishes in detail with your attorney and solicitor. At Winston Solicitors, we ensure that every LPA we draft is tailored to the individual's specific needs and preferences.

In order to determine whether there is any inheritance tax due from the estate, you will need to calculate the net estate for inheritance tax purposes and where necessary, check if you are eligible for any inheritance tax reliefs.

A Health and Welfare LPA focuses on decisions related to your health and personal well-being, while a Property and Financial Affairs LPA pertains to decisions about your finances and property.

When someone dies having already made a will, they are likely to have explained in their will which assets they are leaving, such as property, money and possessions, and to who they would like to leave them (the beneficiaries). Everything that is owned by the deceased is called their “estate”. The will should name the executor, who is the person in charge of distributing the assets.

The executor will then need to apply for probate to give them legal authority to collect the assets within the deceased’s estate and distribute them to the beneficiaries. Before the executor applies for probate, they will need to estimate the value of the estate and calculate whether any inheritance tax is due.

Where the solicitor is acting as the executor, they will often hold inheritance money for 6 months after the Grant of Probate is given. This is because if anyone wants to make an Inheritance Act claim against the estate because they reasonably expected to receive an inheritance but didn’t, they must do this within 6 months of probate being granted. Therefore, if someone does make a claim for money from the estate and they are successful, the amount can be deducted from the total held by the solicitor before it is allocated amongst the beneficiaries.

Indefinitely until the testator (the person whose will it is) dies & their executors come to collect it or if the testator wants to make a new will & requests the old will be released to them.