Wrigley Claydon Solicitors

Category: Trusts, Wills & Probate

  • Lasting Powers of Attorney solicitor Oldham

    Lasting Powers of Attorney solicitor Oldham

    What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

    A legal document that allows you to choose someone (an attorney) to make decisions on your behalf. There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA):

    Personal Welfare

    Your Attorneys can make the decisions you make on a daily basis regarding your personal welfare. This can include your diet, what medical treatment you receive or where you live. This type of LPA can only be used by your Attorney when you can no longer make these decisions for yourself.

    Property and Affairs

    Your Attorneys can make decisions about your property and finances. This can include accessing your bank or building society accounts, managing your finances or selling your property. You can decide whether your Attorneys make decisions whenever you want or only in situations when you lack capacity.

    Why should I create a LPA?

    You may wish to prepare for the future. For a time when, because of mental or physical difficulties, you are not able to manage your own affairs. You may travel abroad a lot and need someone to manage your affairs whilst you are away, you could be in an accident and someone may need to access your bank account to pay for your care, you may have strong views about the medical treatment you receive – if you lose capacity who would express these views for you? A LPA gives you peace of mind that your affairs are in order and it is you that has decided who will make those decisions for you, a LPA is like an insurance policy, invaluable should the need arise.

    Who can make a LPA?

    Anyone aged 18 or over, with the mental capacity to do so.

    What happens if I don’t make a LPA?

    Nobody has the power to make decisions on your behalf. If you lose mental capacity then someone (usually a loved one) would have to apply to the Court for an Order to make decisions on your behalf (called a Deputyship Order). It is very costly and usually takes the Court six months to reach a decision, sometimes this is too late.

    To complete a Lasting Power of Attorney or to discuss this further, please contact our Wills, Trusts and Probate team on 0161 624 6811 or email Rachel Damianou.
  • Todmorden office supporting Will Making Month 2016 with Age UK

    Todmorden office supporting Will Making Month 2016 with Age UK

    If you are looking at making a will Todmorden solicitors Wrigley Claydon are supporting Age UK’s Will Making Month during April 2016…

    Our Todmorden office are working with Age UK Calderdale and Kirklees and Age UK Todmorden throughout April 2016 as part of the charity’s ‘Will Making Month’ campaign.

    Making a will is the best way to ensure your wishes are carried out after your death.

    Make your will with us this April and help Age UK Calderdale and Kirklees and Age UK Todmorden provide services and support for older people.

    We are donating our time and expertise to write wills for Age UK supporters.

    All you have to do is contact the Wrigley Claydon Todmorden office on 01706 815712 and make an appointment between 1st and 30th April. Please say you are calling about Age UK Calderdale and Kirklees / Todmorden ‘Make a Will’ month.

    All we ask is that you make a suggested donation of £60 per person or £100 per couple which we will send to the Age UK on your behalf.

    This offer is open to anyone aged 50+, does not include home visits and only covers straight forward wills. More complicated wills may incur extra charge. Please check with us when you call to make your appointment.

  • Dealing with bereavement

    Dealing with bereavement

    Loss is never easy and whilst grieving is a normal process following a bereavement, it affects people in many different ways.  You may feel shock, numbness, anger or feel unable to cope with matters that would normally not be a problem.  This is all perfectly natural but having a guide as to what to do and when can assist.  On your list should be:

    • Contact a Funeral Director even if you do not have the Medical Certificate.
    • Make an appointment to register the death as soon as you have the Medical Certificate, usually within 5 days of the death unless the death has been referred to the Coroner.
    • Inform anyone you think may need to know for example Home Help, family Doctor, the DWP, employer, Insurance companies, Banks, Pension Companies, Gas, Electricity and telephone suppliers. Using the Registrars “Tell us Once” Service can ease this burden.

    At Wrigley Claydon we have a dedicated team of Probate professionals who can guide you through the process.  We can help ease some of the strain even in the most straight forward cases and take on the heavy burden of more complex cases.

    Our services need not be costly; we can tailor make parts of our Probate package to suit you.

    Please do not hesitate to get in touch for confidential and initial free advice to discuss how we can support you.  Please call 0161 624 6811 or email our partner Rachel Damianou who heads up the team at rld@wrigleyclaydon.com.
  • Remember a Charity in your Will Week 2015

    Remember a Charity in your Will Week 2015

    We are showing our support for ‘Remember a Charity in your Will Week’ from Monday 7th to Sunday 13th September 2015.

    The week, organised by Remember A Charity, aims to increase awareness of the importance of charitable legacies, and encourage more people to think about including a good cause in their Will, after they have looked after family and friends. As a campaign supporter Wrigley Claydon is encouraging its clients to name a cause close to their hearts as a beneficiary of their Will.

    As part of the national Remember A Charity Week 2015 campaign, six pensioners have already pledged their support and signed their Wills at 10’000ft, while skydiving alongside a solicitor.

    Rachel Damianou, Partner and head of Trusts, Wills and Probate at Wrigley Claydon commented, “Only a small proportion of us set our affairs in order with a properly arranged Will. Costing surprisingly little, a Will gives you the peace of mind that your loved ones will be provided for. It also gives you the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy. Legacies are the foundation of many good causes in the UK and you don’t need to leave a lot to charity to make a substantial difference.”

    74% of the UK population supports charities and when asked almost half of those people say they would be happy to leave a charitable gift in their will once family and friends are provided for. The problem is that very few actually do. If just four percent more of us did, it would generate an extra £1 billion for UK charities every year.

    Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity added, “Gifts in Wills are the foundation of many of Britain’s charities, creating more than £2 billion for the provision of critical services each year. We hope Remember a Charity Week 2015 will reach our biggest audience to date thanks to the support of Government bodies, charities and solicitors.”

    If you haven’t already prepared a Will, stating to whom and where you would like your assets to go after your death, please contact our friendly and professional team on 0161 624 6811.

    If you would like to discuss leaving something in your Will to a charitable cause, whether adding an amendment to an existing Will, or including this provision in a new Will, we can assist you.

  • Landmark Court of Appeal ruling could lead to increased numbers contesting a Will

    Landmark Court of Appeal ruling could lead to increased numbers contesting a Will

    A Will dispute case has hit the media headlines this week as it is feared the landmark ruling may have ramifications on the future of Wills as we know them.

    A Will is a declaration of a person’s intentions to distribute his or her estate and assets after their passing. Legal professionals like Wrigley Claydon stress the need for a Will to ensure property and belongings go to the person(s) you wish them to after you die. A binding Will also serves to diminish any ambiguity and limit any fallout about who is entitled to what after someones death, until now.

    Of course, Wills can be contested and often are, but the case publicised this week appears to have done a complete U-turn on the last wishes and intentions of the deceased. Melita Jackson fell out with her daughter Heather Ilott, now 54, when she eloped with a boyfriend aged 17. The fallout was never resolved and on Jackson’s death in 2004 she left her entire estate, worth nearly £500,000, to animal charities. Ilott contested the Will and after a decade long battle the estranged daughter has been awarded £164,000.

    On the face of it, it appears Jackson’s right to testamentary freedom has been compromised and could open the floodgates for other estranged children to challenge the Last Will and Testament of their parents. There is also the implications for the charity sector to consider as more than £2bn a year is left to them in legacies. However, the particulars of this case are to be considered. On overturning or varying a Will, the Courts will have to examine the needs and resources of both parties, in this case Ilott and the charities. Mrs Ilott as a person in financial need; she has five children, lives in social housing, is on benefits and has no pension. The charities however, RSPCA, RSPB, and Blue Cross, are national charities receiving millions of pounds in donations each year. It is on this reasoning that the money was awarded. The inheritance will allow Ilott to buy her rented home, with a sum of £20,000 left over for future maintenance, a figure that will not affect Ilott’s benefit claims and one the courts felt was appropriate.

    It is also claimed that Ilott made numerous attempts over the years to reconcile the differences with her mother, which were never reciprocated.

    The case only goes to highlight the importance of having a Will professionally drawn up. By consulting a solicitor like Wrigley Claydon, we can draw up further necessary documents to explain a testators wishes eg. disinheriting a child and the reasons for doing so, to help support the validation of your choices and to reduce the risk of your Will being successfully contested.

    If you feel you have a potential claim for contesting a Will, we also deal with challenges to Wills by disappointed potential beneficiaries.

    For Will writing or Will contesting legal advice, please contact our Wills, Probate and Trusts department on 0161 624 6811 or use our online enquiry form and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.
  • Is your Will up to scratch? Advice from our Wills and Probate solicitors

    Is your Will up to scratch? Advice from our Wills and Probate solicitors

    A woman is seeking hundreds of thousands of pounds compensation from Barclays, claiming the bank’s Will-writing service resulted in her losing a stake in a valuable London home.

    Barclays is contesting the claim.

    The matter has now gone to the High Court.

    Court documents show that in 2007 Ebenezer Aregbesola used Barclays’ £90 Will-writing service to create a Will dealing with his various assets including homes overseas and in London. His Will instructed half of the London home to be given to his daughter on his death.

    The property was owned jointly by Mr Aregbesola and his wife – who was not the daughter’s mother. Because of the joint ownership, on Mr Aregbesola’s death in early 2014, the property went wholly to his wife – in contravention of the wishes spelt out in the will.

    In order for the Will’s conditions to have been fulfilled, it is alleged that Barclays should have severed the joint tenancy agreement. This would have enabled half of the property’s value to pass as instructed to his daughter. Because this severance process – which the Ombudsman described as “a simple formality” – was neglected, the joint tenant, Mr Aregbesola’s widow, is legally entitled to the whole property.

    The case highlights the danger of popular, cheap “DIY” wills which are often too simplistic to reflect accurately their owner’s wishes.

    By making a Will, you can choose to whom you want to leave your estate as well as appointing guardians to look after any young children should you die whilst they are under 18. By planning ahead, you can ensure that you do not cause unnecessary difficulties for your loved ones. You can use your Will to look after everything that is important to you, including charitable causes.

    We are experts in these complex areas of law but you will find the legal advice we offer is straightforward and easy to understand. Please contact Rachel Damianou or Jyoti Patel, our Wills and Probate solicitors, on 0161 624 6811.
  • Make a Will Weeks 2015 for Dr Kershaw’s Hospice

    Make a Will Weeks 2015 for Dr Kershaw’s Hospice

    We are once again taking part in ‘Will Weeks’ for Dr Kershaw’s Hospice in Oldham. Our Wills department took part in the initiative last year where we raised £2460.00 for the hospice.

    This time around we are hoping to raise even more!

    From Monday 18th until Friday 29th May 2015, if an appointment is made with us to write a Will we will waiver our fee in lieu of a donation to the hospice. During these two weeks we will ask that £95 be donated for a single Will, and £175 for two mirror Wills, as per our usual charges.

    Making a Will is so vitally important to ensure your assets and belongings go to the people you want them to on your death. They offer peace of mind for you and some comfort to your surviving relatives on your passing. A legally binding Will will avoid further distress to your loved ones at what is already a difficult time. The staff at hospices such as Dr Kershaw’s know all too well the importance of a Will. The work they do is not just palliative care but also to support patients and their families in so many ways. Offering schemes like this to ensure Wills are made is just one example of this.

    To book your appointment to make a Will, please call the Wrigley Claydon Wills department on 0161 624 6811.

  • Will and Estate Dispute advice

    Over the last few years disputes about Wills have become increasingly common. The latest high profile dispute concerns the Estate of the late Robin Williams, the Hollywood acting legend, where his widow is contesting the Will against the actor’s children.

    Will disputes can be very complex and require expert legal guidance to resolve matters as fairly as possible.

    At Wrigley Claydon, we fight on your behalf to make this difficult time a little easier, whether you are bringing a claim or you are on the receiving end. We are experts in this field and have won complex cases for our clients.

    As it is an emotional time we deal with our cases sensitively ensuring that all of our clients are happy with each stage of the process and the outcome of proceedings.

    For example we have recently defended a client in a difficult Will and Estate disputes case, where the deceased person’s relative was claiming £250,000 from our client’s estate. We successfully defended the case through the courts which meant that the estate was preserved and the £250,000 together with the rest of the estate passed to the people named in our clients Will.

    If you are looking for Will and Estate dispute advice do not hesitate to contact us. Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to one of our specialists or for more information on the services we offer visit our Wills and Estates disputes page.
  • Inheritance law changes

    Inheritance law changes

    New inheritance law changes simplifying what happens when someone dies without leaving a will came into effect on 1st October 2014.

    Changes to the rights of people whose spouses or civil partners die without making a will have come into force.

    The changes have been designed to speed up and modernise the process for dividing the money, property and other assets of someone who has died “intestate” (the legal terms for not having a will).

    The Ministry of Justice said the reforms bring the law into line with the expectations of modern society and will make the process easier to manage for relatives and friends.

    The changes, made in the new Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act, include:

    • When someone who has no children dies intestate, their whole estate will pass to their spouse. Before today’s changes a complex set of rules has been used which also, in some circumstances, allocated parts of the estate to other family members.
    • When someone dies intestate and they do have children, the way their estate is split between their spouse and children will be simplified. This has also previously been subject to a complex set of rules.
    • Closing a loophole to make sure children who are adopted don’t lose their inheritance after their parent’s death.

    Justice Minister Lord Faulks said:

    We want to make sure that when someone dies, and they haven’t left a will, their property will be dealt with sensibly and as quickly as possible. That is why we have made these common sense changes to modernise the law and make administering an estate faster and easier.

    A large number of people do die without leaving a will each year, and I would encourage people of all ages to ensure they have properly considered making a will so that, if the worst happens, their own wishes are followed.

    For married couples with no children, the surviving partner will now inherit their spouse’s entire estate.  Under former laws they would get £450,000, then half of anything above that, with the rest divided among other relatives.

    In cases where married couples had children, the surviving spouse was only entitled to interest on their half of anything over £250,000 under the old rules – with the sum itself given to the children after the surviving spouse died.  Under the new laws, the surviving spouse will get the first £250,000 as before but they will now get half of the remainder – rather than just interest on that amount.

    These are the first major changes to Rules of Intestacy since 1925. The changes apply in England and Wales.

    The changes are designed to make the system fairer and address concerns that is has been difficult for those who deserve an inheritance to get one.

    Rachel Damianou, Trust, Wills and Probate partner at Wrigley Claydon said:

    Whilst the changes undoubtedly help the families of those dying without a will it is still much safer to contact us and  make a will and ensure your precise wishes are carried out rather than relying on the laws of intestacy which effectively tells you who inherits and in what proportions on your death.

    To talk to us about making a Will please call us on 0161 624 6811.
  • Presumption of Death Certificate

    Presumption of Death Certificate

    Families of missing people will have new rights following law changes taking effect from, 1 October 2014.

    Families and next of kin will be able to apply for a Presumption of Death Certificate (made through the Presumption of Death Act 2013 and apply in England and Wales) for a loved one who has gone missing and is presumed dead.  Similar legislation is already in force in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

    The new declaration will work in the same way as a Death Certificate and will allow families of a missing person to handle their estate and financial affairs. The process has been complex in the past and grieving families have struggled to close bank accounts, stop direct debts and generally wind up affairs.

    The certificate will be issued by the court if the person has been missing for seven years or if there is good reason to believe he or she is dead.

    The declaration of presumed death will also mean that any marriage or civil partnership will come to an end in the same way as if the missing person had died. Property can also be inherited under the missing person’s will.

    Justice Minister Lord Faulks QC said:

    Today marks a crucial step forward for families facing up to the terrible situation of losing someone without a trace. We have made sure that while they are dealing with the heartache of a loved one going missing, they no longer have to face such a daunting task to deal with the practical issues that are also created.

    Rachel Damianou, Trust, Wills and Probate partner at Wrigley Claydon said:

    Dealing with a loved one’s estate is traumatic enough without this added stress. At Wrigley Claydon we try generally to make the whole process as smooth and painless as possible in all cases we deal with.

    The Ministry of Justice is currently consulting on whether a system should also be created under which a person can be appointed to deal with the property and affairs of a missing person who is not presumed dead; and, if so, how and on what terms.

    If you feel your loved one may qualify for a Presumption of Death Certificate, please contact our Trust, Wills and Probate team, Rachel Damianou or Jyoti Patel by calling 0161 624 6811.  We understand the delicate issues around this type of case and will do our very best to handle your enquiry with due care and respect.