Published on: 19th October 2020

Casey & Associates Estate Planning Checklist

Here at Casey & Associates we always want to ensure our Clients have all the information they need to be confident in all aspects of their Estate Planning. This article gives detail on an Estate Planning checklist – everything we would recommend you to consider from an Estate Planning perspective.

Wills

We always talk about the essential role a Will plays in Estate Planning so knowing where your Will is and that it is up to date is absolutely critical!

Do you know where your latest, and thus current, Wills are stored? If not and your Will cannot be found then you will die intestate. If you have children under 18 dying intestate can be disastrous for your spouse.

Are your Wills dated and were they signed in front of two independent witnesses?

Do you have children under 18 years of age? If so, have you created a Will with a guardianship clause in it?

Are your guardians still suitable?

Who are your executors? Are they still suitable?

Have you married since creating your last Will? If so, your Will is revoked and you need a new one. Please contact us.

Does your Will have a "Discretionary" Trust in it? If so, it may need amending so please contact us.

Do you have a trust in your Will? If so, have you moved house since you created your Will? You may need to change the title of your new house. Do you know about this? Please contact us if you need advice.

Lasting Power of Attorney

An extremely important document to have that gives someone you trust the ability to make legal decisions on your behalf should you be mentally unable or unwilling to do so.

Have you created Lasting Powers of Attorney? If not, please consider doing this as a matter of urgency. Please contact us for advice and assistance.

If you have created Lasting Powers of Attorney, are they registered? If not, we recommend that you do so with the minimum of delay.

Do your Attorneys know where you keep your Lasting Powers of Attorney?

ICE

An ICE (In Case of Emergency) file that contains relevant details on emergency assets.

Do you have an ICE (In Case of Emergency) file set up? An ICE file should contain asset, bank account, insurance and Death in Service policy details.

If you have created an ICE file does your spouse and do your family know where the file is stored?

If you have a trust protecting your house you may be affected by a recent change in the Inheritance Tax laws. If your assets are over £325,000 (single person) or £650,000 (couple) and your home (or part of it) is held in an trust, please contact us for advice.

Inheritance Tax

An Inheritance Tax strategy is essential to good Estate Planning.

Are your assets over £1m? If so please contact us for advice regarding Inheritance Tax.

If your assets are over £2m you might be losing some Inheritance Tax allowances. Do you know about this?

Digital Assets

Much more prevalent now, almost inevitably everyone will have some form of digital assets that needs to be considered as part of the Estate Planning process.

Do you keep your digital life on your device(s) protected by passwords? Do you have a system that allows your executors to retrieve those passwords when the time comes?

Do you know what happens to your social media accounts when you die?

Pensions

Many Clients when they first speak to us have more pensions than they are perhaps aware of. It goes without saying that knowing about your pension and your partner’s pension is extremely important.

Do you and your spouse know about all of your pensions? What happens on first death? And on second death? Do your pensions pass outside your Estate? If you would like advice on pensions, we can introduce you to a pension professional who can give you some initial advice without charge.

How prepared are you?

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article, or any other Estate Planning topic, with one of our Consultants please telephone 01732 868190 or click here to arrange an appointment.

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Our Covid-19 policy is now that if you require general information about our Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney or Trusts then we will carry out a telephone appointment. However, if you wish to give instructions to one of our Consultants we are offering a limited number of Face to Face appointments in most of the areas we normally cover (subject to Government advice). To see the areas we normally cover please click here.