Carter Bells LLP Solicitors

Protecting Family Wealth

The PRIVATE CLIENT TEAM at Carter Bells combines experience and expertise to be able to advise and assist you in the following areas in a friendly and sensitive way.

MAKING A WILL

Everybody should make a Will during their lifetime and review their Will at regular intervals. The most important reason for making a Will is to protect the interests of your family and ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death. In particular, making a Will enables you to: More...

Specify who should receive your estate in the event of your death;
Appoint an Executor/Executors who would be responsible for the administration of your Estate after your death. We are happy to act as Executors to ensure that the administration of your Estate is dealt with professionally and sensitively;
Specify the age at which children should inherit;
Appoint Guardians of your infant children;
Minimise your Inheritance Tax liability and enable you to take advantage of available exemptions and reliefs;
Set up a trust to administer funds for children or other individuals who are unable to manage their own money;
Set up a trust to allow a spouse or partner to live in a property after your death on the basis that the property would then pass to your children after the death of your spouse or partner.

GRANT OF PROBATE OR GRANT OF LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION OF A DECEASED PERSON’S ESTATE

At this difficult time, we can guide you and assist you in dealing with the administration of a deceased person’s estate to ensure that the estate is administered as efficiently as possible and with least distress to all parties involved.
We can do as much to assist you in the administration of the deceased person’s estate as you require. We can deal with all aspects of estate administration including:- More...

Notifying relevant organisations of a deceased person’s death;
Preparation of the paperwork (including an Inheritance Tax Account, if applicable, and Oath) to take out a Grant of Probate (if the deceased left a Will) or a Grant of Letters of Administration (if the deceased did not leave a Will);
We can advise you regarding the inheritance tax position of the estate and take the relevant steps to arrange payment of the inheritance tax liability from the deceased person’s estate;
We can deal with payment of all of the deceased’s liabilities from the deceased person’s estate;
We can finalise and settle the deceased’s taxation liabilities with HM Revenue and Customs;
We can deal with payment of legacies and distribution of the deceased person’s assets and money in the estate.

TRUSTS

We can supply expert advice on the creation, establishment and management of trusts. There are a number of reasons why individuals transfer assets into trust whether during their lifetime or by Will, on their death including:- More...

Making provision for adult children who may themselves be unable to manage their own finances;
Making financial provision for a younger generation;
Making provision for a surviving partner or spouse to carry on living in the home whilst at the same time protecting the interests of the children;
Passing assets down to the next generation in as tax efficient a way as possible.

LASTING POWERS OF ATTORNEY, APPOINTMENT OF A DEPUTY BY THE COURT OF PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S FINANCIAL AFFAIRS

As people are living longer, many of us are faced with the knowledge that one day we may be unable to manage our own financial affairs. If an individual were to become mentally or physically incapable of managing their own financial affairs, a third party (whether a spouse or adult child) would not be able to sign documents on behalf of that individual without the appropriate legal authority. More...

It is therefore sensible for individuals to consider granting a Lasting Power of Attorney to one or more trusted family members or close friends or professional persons so that if the individual were to become mentally or physically unable to manage their own financial affairs during their lifetime, the Attorney or Attorneys appointed by the individual would then be able to take over managing that person’s financial affairs.

If a Lasting Power of Attorney were not granted and if an individual became mentally incapable of managing their financial affairs, it may be necessary to make an application to the Court of Protection for the appointment of a Deputy to manage that individual’s financial affairs. An application to the Court for the appointment of a Deputy would involve considerable legal expense and would also be very time consuming and it would therefore be preferable for an Attorney to be appointed in order to avoid the need to make an application to the Court of Protection for the appointment of a Deputy.

If it is necessary to make application to the Court of Protection for the appointment of a Deputy, we can provide you with the appropriate advice and assistance and deal with the application on your behalf.

For those clients who do not have family members or friends able to manage their financial affairs on their behalf, Carter Bells can act as your Attorneys and manage your financial affairs on your behalf.

It is also possible to enter into a Health and Welfare Power of Attorney – to confer upon a third party authority to take decisions regarding your personal health and welfare.

For further information regarding any of the points mentioned above, please contact CARTER BELLS on 020 8939 4000 and ask to speak to a member of the Private Client Team.

The Private Client Team includes members of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners)and SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly).