Wills, Estate Planning and Protection - with Irwin Mitchell Solicitors

Gillian Coverley, head of Partnerships, Wills and Probate within the private client services team of Irwin Mitchell, gave a valuable insight into why a Will is a necessary tool to be used to help secure your wishes. A Will is basically a legal document setting out who will deal with your estate and who will benefit from it.

With 60% of UK adults (31 million people) currently not having a valid Will, the topic certainly helped bring to the forefront why having one early in life can cover most eventualities, whilst not having a Will means that your estate may be distributed by intestacy laws.  An important point raised was that upon marriage any prior Will becomes invalid so updates would be required. Also, an ex-spouse could still inherit during divorce proceedings unless the Will is revised.

After further conversation and lots of questions being asked concerning the best way to maximise a Will’s desired effect, we moved straight into reviewing Inheritance Tax and how this can directly affect the estate. Gillian covered all the main points including the basic tax-free allowance of £325,000 per individual, the residence nil rate band of £175,000 per individual, that any unused tax-free allowance can be transferred to a surviving spouse and the rate of tax – 40%. Again, more questions were asked by the attendees to further understand key areas of interest.

Gifting allowances, exemptions, Business and Agricultural Relief and gifting dates were all covered in detail with Gillian giving several examples as to how the tax calculation can fluctuate given additional charitable gifts. This immediately highlighted how savings could be made and value added due to small amendments.

In closing, Gillian summed up that a Will should be worded correctly to achieve your true intentions, that it should be drawn up by a regulated firm and to keep any Will up to date and in a safe place where executors or trusted family members have knowledge of.

Gillian’s detailed and knowledgeable account of the current and upcoming amendments across Will’s and Inheritance Tax certainly was invaluable. Everyone who attended appreciated the information shared and came away with a greater sense of understanding and for most, a new job to be added to their “to do” list.

Many thanks to Gillian Coverley of Irwin Mitchell and to all attending members and guests for making the evening a great success.