Services

Mr A and Mrs A are in their forties and married. They have three children under 18. Mr A has a child (now aged 25) from a previous relationship. Mr & Mrs A die in a car accident. They never made Wills. The father of Mr A is alive, fit and healthy. The mother of Mrs A is alive but suffers from early signs of dementia. Where will their estate go? Who will look after the three children who are under 18?

Mr A and Miss B are partners. They are not married. They own their house jointly and both contribute to the mortgage. They have two children. Mr A and Miss B wish to “…leave everything to each other and then to the children in equal shares.” Their assets are their house valued at £500k and a bank account in the name of Miss B of £150k which she inherited two years ago. This couple is at risk of paying £130k of Inheritance Tax completely unnecessarily. What planning needs to be done to mitigate this risk?

Mr A and Mrs A (ages 68 and 70) currently have Wills which leave “…everything to each other.” And then, subject to a survivorship clause of 28 days, leave everything to each of their three children in equal shares. Mr A and Mrs A own their house jointly and it is valued at £300k. Over the years Mr A and Mrs A have kept their finances separate. Mr A has built up assets in his own name of £330k and Mrs A has built up assets in her own name of £20k. Tragically Mr & Mrs A both die in a road traffic collision. Why does the survivorship clause in the Wills disadvantage the children by £122k?