Published on: 5th April 2021

What difference does good Estate Planning make? ~ A lot!

Here at Casey & Associates we are passionate about good Estate Planning as we have seen in many cases the value good Estate Planning can bring and how important it is. We have also seen many examples of where poor Estate Planning has caused major financial and personal problems. In this article is an example of what can happen if proper Estate Planning is not put in place.

Mr & Mrs Smith are in their seventies. This is their second marriage. Mr Smith has a child (Anastasia) from a previous marriage. Mrs Smith has a child (Bethany) from a previous marriage. Mr & Mrs Smith have a child (Christopher) together.

The total family assets are :

• Family home at £800,000 owned jointly
• Mr Smith savings at £200,000
• Mrs Smith savings at £200,000
• Joint savings at £200,000

Mr & Mrs Smith wish to leave their assets as follows :

• 50% to Christopher
• 25% to Anastasia
• 25% to Bethany

A Casey & Associates consultant visits Mr & Mrs Smith who have never written Wills. After reviewing the circumstances and assets of the family the Casey & Associates consultant recommends an Estate Plan for Mr & Mrs Smith. The total costs including VAT and Court Fees is £4264-00p. Mr & Mrs Smith decide to think about the recommendation.

The recommended plan would achieve the following :

• Asset distribution as Mr & Mrs Smith wanted
• Reduced Inheritance tax liability of £130,000-00p
• Paperwork that allowed the family to help Mr & Mrs Smith make decisions if ever they struggled with their mental capacity

In the end the following happened :

• Mr Smith died first
• All assets went to Mrs Smith
• Mrs Smith started to lose mental capacity and so could not create a Will
• The children had to apply to the Court for paperwork to help Mrs Smith make decisions. The cost was about £4000 and took about four months to obtain. During this time the family was “in limbo”. Mrs Smith had to go into care but no one could access funds to pay for the care.
• The reduced Inheritance Tax saving could not be achieved
• The Laws of Intestacy decided the distribution of the Estate as follows:
• 0% to Anastasia
• 50% to Bethany
• 50% to Christopher

The result of not taking the Casey & Associates recommendation was :

• £130,000-00p extra tax paid unnecessarily
• £4000-00p extra costs incurred unnecessarily
• Stress for the family whilst Mrs Smith was losing mental capacity because the family could not access any funds
• A major fallout between the children after Mrs Smith passed away ~ the legal and court fees are already in the tens of thousands of pounds

If you are a home owning couple please consider arranging an appointment with a Casey & Associates consultant by contacting the friendly and experienced Client Services team on 01732 868190 or contact us using our website by clicking here.

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Our Covid-19 policy is now that if you wish to give instructions or require general information about our Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney or Trusts then we will carry out a telephone or Zoom appointment. However, if you wish to give instructions to one of our Consultants and you feel that you can only do this at a Face to Face meeting we are offering, at our Consultant’s discretion, 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. To arrange an appointment please telephone 01732 868190 or click here.

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