FAQs & Helpful Guides

Estate planning is a complex process, which is why we’re here to make it simple. Read through our FAQs below, and delve into our myth busting guides to understand more about what we do.

I only have a small estate – I don’t need a Will

If your estate is very small – currently this is defined as below £5,000, although most banks will transfer up to £20,000 / £25,000 – it’s unlikely the process of Probate will be required to distribute your estate. But this isn’t the case for everyone. For most people, a Will is required.

For more information, visit our Wills & Wills Trusts page.

All my assets and wealth will automatically pass on to my next of kin when I die

If you don’t make a Will, your assets and wealth are likely to automatically pass on to your next of kin.

If you don’t have a next of kin, you’ll need to state in a Will who should benefit from your estate when you pass away.

For more information, visit our Wills & Wills Trusts page.

My partner and I aren’t married, but we have lived together a long time. They will automatically inherit my estate when I pass away.

There are complex rules around an unmarried partner inheriting a person’s assets and wealth after they die. To protect a surviving partner or spouse, and ensure they are financially provided for during the remainder of their lifetime, you’ll need to write a Will and plan your estate.

For more information, visit our Wills & Wills Trusts page.

What are the main reasons / benefits of setting up my Lifetime Trust?

There are many, but the main ones are:

For you and your beneficiaries:

Avoiding Probate costs of £10,000 – £15,000
Avoiding Probate delays, thereby giving beneficiaries immediate access to Trust funds
Avoiding sideways disinheritance should you ever remarry or own property jointly

For your beneficiaries:

Avoiding dilution of inheritance due to early death and sideways disinheritance, divorce or annulment of civil partnership, or insolvency and financial problems
Avoiding Inheritance Tax in beneficiaries’ estates
Avoiding issues with challenges to your Will and unreliable beneficiaries
Avoiding loss of means-tested benefits for beneficiaries

For more information, visit our Wills & Wills Trusts page.

Is a Trust guaranteed to exempt me from care fees?

There is no guaranteed way of avoiding the value of assets being taken into account for means testing, but under current rules, if the local authority cannot establish that avoidance of care home fees is a ‘significant factor’ for setting up the Family Trust there will be no basis for challenging the Family Trust.

For more information, visit our Later life care costs page.

I want to minimise threats and maximise the inheritance received by your chosen beneficiaries.

The principal threats to your beneficiaries receiving what you hope to pass down to them are:

Inheritance Tax
Sideways disinheritance
Probate fees and Probate delays
Care fees

For more information, visit our Inheritance tax planning page.

I want my beneficiaries’ inheritance protecting against long-term threats.

Once you have maximised your loved ones’ inheritance, you may wish to protect it long-term against a number of threats that may happen, which we at Estate Planning Solutions can support with.

For more information, visit our Wills & Wills Trusts page.