Nation of procrastinators put off making a Will

According to latest research, we are a nation of procrastinators, as around 41 million adults in the UK regularly put off doing everyday tasks like completing DIY projects or making a Will.

The study, conducted by OnePoll, highlighted that the majority of people would rather wait for tomorrow, as the people questioned confirmed that they continuously put off carrying out everyday tasks (such as finding cheaper insurances, doing DIY) but that they also delayed completing important duties such as paying bills and making a Will).

This can have serious consequences, as the study also pointed out that these bad habits leave more than one in 10 people (14%) ending up in financial trouble because of their failure to keep on top of their personal admin duties.

These results also support the findings of another recent study, which found that around two-thirds of adults in the UK had yet to make a Will. 62% of those asked in the survey by insurance comparison service Unbiased said that they had yet to make a Will, despite it being an important document for all UK adults to have.

Whilst the consequences of putting off a DIY project or finding a better deal on your home insurance may seem quite trivial, the impact of not making a Will could be much worse.

Nathan Cameron at Will writing specialists Consumer Care, said: “These stats confirm what we see every day, as customers regularly tell us that they haven’t got around to making a Will – yet all of them recognise just how important it is.

 “Making a Will ensures that you decide who receives your estate and who looks after your children, if the worst were to happen. Without a Will, the Courts could determine what happens to your estate or who should be your children’s legal guardian - which might not necessarily be as you would wish.”

Consumer Care is a specialist Will writing service that offers Single Wills and Mirror Wills online. Follow this link for further information on making a Will.

£1m from those who die without wills passes to Prince Charles's estate

Under powers dating back to medieval times, the Duchy is entitled to all unclaimed property and estates left when someone dies in Cornwall, in an arrangement known as bona vacantia.

In the last financial year alone, £552,000 passed to the Duchy under the ancient law, which was put in place when the Duchy was created by Edward III in 1337 for his son and heir, Edward, the Black Prince.

The Prince of Wales does not, however, keep any of the money; instead it is distributed in charitable donations through the Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund, with a small amount kept in reserve for any future claims on unclaimed estates.

In most of Britain, the estates of people who die without making a will, and who have no obvious heirs, go to the Government.

But because Cornwall is owned by the Prince of Wales, unclaimed estates go to the Duchy, which has been the personal possession of the eldest son of the sovereign since the Charter of Edward III.

Since 2006 a total of £1,019,000 has come to the Duchy under bona vacantia, the Latin for vacant land.

Last year the Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund received £450,000 as a result of bona vacantia, with a total of £154,000 being held in reserve for any future claims.

A Duchy of Cornwall spokesperson said: "The Prince of Wales decided almost forty years ago that the bona vacantia funds should be given to charity."
The anti-monarchy campaign group Republic said the Prince had "no right" to the funds.

As the Duke of Cornwall, the Prince has several little-known rights and powers, including the right to veto Westminster legislation.

Last year the Prince earned £18.3 million from the Duchy, mainly coming from residential and commercial property rents on the 132,000 acres of land he owns. The Prince’s income in the 2011/12 financial year was £500,000 up on the previous year.

The Prince pays income tax voluntarily, earning the Inland Revenue around £4.5 million last year.

As well as land in Cornwall, the Duchy owns land in 22 other counties, with more than 3,500 lettings, which include 1,000 commercial agreements and 700 residential lettings.

The Oval cricket ground, the Isles of Scilly and much of the foreshore around Cornwall are among the Duchy’s possessions. The Duchy also owns land as far north as Cheshire.

Although the Duke of Cornwall is entitled to the annual income of the Duchy, he is not allowed to sell its assets for personal gain, meaning that all property transactions with a value of £500,000 or more must be approved by the Treasury.

03/10/2012 - Telegraph.co.uk

We hope you may now realise how important making a Will can be, please visit Consumer Care to learn more.

Avoid the payment of care home fees in your Will.

If you read our blogs on a regular basis you will be well aware that 70% of the population die without making a Will.If you don’t then you may find this a shocking fact.

The question is does it register sufficiently for you to make the effort  to  do something about it if you haven’t got a Will.

We have listed all the reasons why people should make a Will several times so we won’t do this again here but make sure you look at our website which will tell you all you want to know.

If people think of Wills and estates the biggest threat they see to preserving what they have when they die for the next generation is inheritance tax.

For married couples with estates worth more than £650000 this does present a problem but they can work out what their potential liability will be and take action by giving value from their estate to their children whilst they are still alive.

However  most estates that go through probate are under £300000 which means thereis no inheritance tax.

So what is all the fuss about?

It’s about the dreaded payment of nursing home fees by people who have sufficient money and other assets to cover the cost of their care and the realisation that although they may have cheated [in the nicest sense of the word ] there has appeared  the  unexpected spectre of huge bills from the local authority just to make your last years comfortable or as least as comfortable as the person in the room next to you who are having their fees paid for by the local council.

However help is at hand.By making a Will in a particular way we are able to preserve your or your spouse or your partner’s interest in your home from the threat of care home fees and instead have your fees paid by the council.

All that is necessary is to leave your house  or your half share of the house in trust for your partner/spouse and the local council won’t be able to bring this into the assessment of your assets to see whether you should make a contribution to your care fees paid by the council.

To completely take the whole of the value of the house out of assessment  the prudent thing to do would be to transfer the whole of  your property into a lifetime trust .

For advice on the above and all matters related to post retirement planning please email us at info@consumer-care.co.uk or ring on 0800 088 4660.

If you would like to know more about our Wills and services, click here

Who can claim from an estate where they have been left nothing in the Will?

A person is up to a point free to dispose of their assets  to who they like if they leave a Will.

The only restriction to this comes from the Inheritance [Provision for Family and  Dependents ]1975 [the Act].

This allows certain categories of people to apply to the Court suggesting that they have not received reasonable financial provision via the Will or intestacy. The question the Court must consider is not whether the deceased has been unreasonable but whether reasonable financial provision has been made and if not what provision would be reasonable in all the circumstances.

Possible applicants under the Act include a spouse, civil partner and children.

Unless  barred by terms of the divorce a former spouse or civil partner[who has not remarried or formed another civil partnership]also has the right to apply under the Act as do dependents and anyone who was being maintained by the deceased.

For deaths after 1 January 1996   cohabitees  who  lived in the same household as the deceased ‘as husband or wife of the deceased ‘during a period of 2 years ending with the death can claim as well.

In assessing a claim under the Act looks at various factors including the financial needs and resources of the applicant and other beneficiaries, the size and nature of the estate any obligations and responsibilities the deceased had towards the applicant or any beneficiary and any other matters that it considers relevant. This wide discretion makes the predicting of applications under the Act  somewhat difficult in practice.

The Act defines reasonable financial provision in relation to a claim by a spouse or civil partner as such provision as would be reasonable in all the circumstances. For all other applicants the test is such provision as it would be reasonable in all the circumstances for the applicant to receive for his maintenance. A spouse is therefore generally in a more favourable position than any other claimant.

Successful claims under the act by adult children capable of earning their own living are not that common but claims by minor children in need of educational costs for example have a much better chance of success.

Maintenance is not limited to the necessities of life but is not so wide as to cover anything that may be viewed as desirable for an applicant’s benefit or welfare. It is regarded generally as payments which directly or indirectly enable the applicant in the future to discharge the cost of his daily living at whatever standard ogf living is appropriate to him.

Paternity tests are quite common as a claimant first has to establish whether they are one of the possible applicants entitled to claim under the Act. At least 20000 paternity tests are carried out each year in Britain, some being sold by companies criticised for cashing in on family crises.

If you do need advice on a potential claim against the estate or you need to defend such a claim then please contact Consumer Care by email: info@consumer-care.co.uk or by telephone on 0800 088 4660 and we will be happy to advise you.

Gifts to children in Wills

A Will takes effect on death and can therefore be revoked at any time while the person making the Will is still alive.

As a result of this the general rule is that if a beneficiary dies before a testator any gift under the Will lapses [fails]. Where the gift is a simple legacy and the person to receive it has died before the testator any gift to him/her lapses.

Where the gift is a simple legacy and the legatee has died before the testator the subject matter of the legacy will fall into residue and increase the value of the residuary estate.

There are important exceptions to this so called ‘doctrine of lapse’ the most important of which is section 33[1] of the Wills Act 1837[the Wills Act] which provides a saving for the issue of the testator.

The statutory saving in the Wills Act has wide reaching implications .Section 33[1] provides that :

A Where a Will contains a gift to a child or remoter descendant of the descendant of the testator and

B the intended beneficiary dies  before the testator leaving  issue and

C issue of the intended beneficiary are living at the testator’s death;

Then unless a contrary intention appears in the Will the gift shall take  effect  as a gift to the issue[which means children or grandchildren and their descendants down through the generations] living at the testator’s death.

For example Tom the testator leaves his estate to his 2 sons in equal shares.

His eldest son Peter dies before Tom leaving 2 children.

Section 33[1] Wills Act operates to ensure that  the 2 grandchildren of Tom take Peter’s  half in equal shares.

Although it’s not possible to exclude the doctrine of lapse under a Will the testator may of course provide for an alternative in the Will so that another beneficiary takes the gift instead. This could be done either by an accrue to the other shares or a gift to another  person.

The effect of an accruer is that the failed gift accrues or is added to another gift that already exists under the Will. An accruer in the widest sense may be implicit in the wording of the gift. Where ,for example, a testator makes a gift to two or more people  and it is clear that the failed share of any who predecease the testator will  increase the share[s] of those who survive there will be an implicit accruer.  

One in five faulty Wills could lead to big inheritance tax bills

One in five Wills contain basic errors according to a recent report from the Legal Services Board which called for Will writing to be regulated to improve standards.

Writing a Will is the first steps to make sure you choose who benefits from your lifetime’s work and to keep inheritance tax [IHT]  to a minimum so it is vital to get it right. By the time you realise there has been a mistake it may be too late to do anything about it.

Although lawyers welcome disputed Wills with open arms because of the fees for sorting things out disputed and faulty Wills are bad news for the families concerned as the lawyer’s time is usually a massive drain on the value of the estate.

Lack of clarity about the testator’s intentions  due to the lack of knowledge of the person taking the instructions can prove difficult to sort out posthumously but the Legal Services Board claims many Will writers are simply ‘not listening’ to their clients.

It’s report states:

‘We found consistent patterns of sloppiness simple errors and poor communication. This often resulted in an unacceptable service for cus consumers were subjected to unfair sales practices’.

Worse still the LSB said it was aware of some ‘examples of fraud and deception’. Its survey of 100 people who wanted a Will found that 20% came back with ‘basic errors’ in their Wills. A handful of the Wills were so bad they ‘could not be executed’.

Currently anyone can help to write a Will. However, under the plans Will writing will become a ‘reserved activity’ for the first time. This will mean that anyone writing a Will have to be registered with one of eight professional bodies.

The Citizens Advice Bureau has warned that increasing numbers of people have been conned by bogus Will writers, some advertising Wills for around £25 in local papers or offering Will writing services door to door. Low cost Wills could prove an expensive mistake given the sums of money  involved in many bequests and most litigation.

But the fundamental problem remains that only a minority of people ever make a Will and most people die intestate. Extending regulation to cover Will writing will do nothing about that-unless of course the authorities decide to make Will writing compulsory like registering a property title at the land registry.

This article just goes to show  the importance in having your Will prepared by a company who cares about its customers and with the ability to match the wishes of a testator with the terms of a Will while at the same time ensuring the Will is tax efficient and free from future challenge.

Consumer Care has a legal team managed by a specialist in the area of Wills estate administration and tax planning the former partner in charge of the Wills Trusts Tax and estates department  of a top ten national solicitors firm where on average on a yearly basis the department produced 35000 Wills .Added to the fact he has just completed 40 years  in the legal profession in this area of the law We can honestly say there is no company better placed to prepare your Will and give you all related advice than Consumer Care .

Why a Lasting Power of Attorney is not just for the elderly

Mental and physical incapacity can hit at any time .plan ahead now to ease the potential burden on your family.

There are some 800000 people in the UK suffering from dementia-a figure that is expected to pass the one million mark by 2015 [ source Daily Mail May 2012. ].

A person living with dementia ,alzheimers or any other condition which might affect mental capacity could find the handling of their finances potentially difficult.It’s for this reason that charities across the UK are strongly recommending that we all have Lasting Powers of Attorney  in place and it’s not just for the elderly .Any of us could become incapacitated through accident or illness at any time.

With a Property & Financial LPA you can nominate people you trust to take care of your finances for you at any time in your life.You may decide you don’t want to deal with your banking pension or paying your bills any longer or you may become incapable of taking care of things yourself.

Health and Welfare LPAS allow those you appoint to make decisions about your care and well being should the time come when you are unable to make these decisions yourself.

The good news is that Consumer Care can set up you Will and Lasting Powers of Attorney at a very competitive price and without the need for you to leave your home .

Consumer Care Limited

Consumer  Care has been set up to make the purchase of legal and financial services  a simple  and friendly experience for the individual.

We prepare Wills ,Lasting Powers of Attorney  and Asset Protection Trusts at very competitive prices  and we will be branching out in the future to offer other services to help protect your assets .

The way we deliver these services to you is by telephone  or you can use our online service if you prefer.

In either case we can complete documents for  you  and send them to you for signature which means you do not have to leave the comfort of your own home.

If you would like to go online we have a comprehensive website which will answer all your questions

The information is set out in an easy to understand way which will help you to make informed decisions on your future.

Alternatively you are welcome to ring us on the number below to discuss  anything relating to Wills,Lasting Powers of Attorney ,Asset Protection Trusts estate administration and tax planning.

Consumer Care, unlike other companies offering these kind of services is able to offer  them nationally.

Wrong Will signed by Testators

In a recent case Marley v Rawlings the facts were Mr and Mrs Rawlings each left the other their entire estate but if the spouse failed to survive the whole estate was left to Terry Marley who was treated as their adopted  son.

The Rawlings had 2 natural children but were not close to them and their intention was to benefit Mr  Terry Marley  alone on the death of the survivor.

Their house was vested in their 3 names as beneficial joint tenants and the rest od the estate came to about £70000 net.

The solicitor who had prepared the Wills visited Mr and Mrs Rawlings at their home with his secretary for the purpose of signing the two Wills.

By mistake Mr Rawlings executed Mrs Rawlings Will and vice versa.Both signatures were witnessed  by the secretary and the solicitor and no-one noticed the error.The mistake was not picked up on the death of Mrs Rawlings in January 2003.Presumably all the assets were jointly owned so that it was unnecessary to obtain a Grant of Probate.

It did not come to light until Mr Rawlings died in 2006.

If the Will was invalid the estate would pass on intestacy to the 2 natural sons of Mr Rawlings.The report makes it clear that Mr Marley will hold the solicitor responsible for the error.

The Court held that the Will could not be omitted to Probate because the requirements of the Wills Act  section 9 had not been met.This section provides that no Will shall be valid unless it appears that that  the testator intended by his signature to give effect to the Will.

In the Judge’s opinion Mr Rawlings did not intend his signature to give effect to the Will he signed.

The Will was therefore invalid.

In case the Judge was wrong  on that point she went on to consider whether the Court had the power to rectify the will under the Administration of Justice act 1982 section 20 and decided that it did not.

Section 20 allows a Court to rectify a Will only if  it is satisfied that the Will fails to carry out the testator’s intentions,in consequence of a clerical error, or a failure to understand his instructions. The meaning of clerical error is wider than mere errors in transcription. In the present case there was no error of drafting whether by inclusion or by omission or by miscasting of words.

The Wills were both correctly expressed ,the error was simply that  the wrong Will was signed. It was as if the solicitor had pulled a Will prepared for a totally unconnected testator out of his briefcase and that one had been signed by mistake.

Rectification was not available.

The case is a reminder of the care that a solicitor needs to take if overseeing execution. Where a solicitor does not oversee execution if the Will is to be returned to the firm for safe keeping there is a duty to check that, on its face, and on the facts then known to them its execution was ostensibly valid.

Will writing regulation

Major changes are happening in the area of Will writing.

Wills have traditionally been written by Solicitors who have undergone many years of training and practical experience. They  are regulated strictly by the  Solicitors Regulation Authority [ SRA].

However as Will writing is not a reserved activity other competitors with little experience of Will writing have entered the Will and Probate market.

There are numerous Will writing companies around the country who are either not regulated or self regulated but none are regulated as rigorously as solicitors.

However, the Legal Services Board are now reviewing this area including dealing with Probate and it is clear that in future all Will writing will be properly regulated and more than likely by the SRA to bring firms up to a proper standard of preparation and delivery of Wills and also dealing with Probate.

This will inevitably see the demise of the many Will writing companies who will be unable to acquire the appropriate validation through lack of training in preparing Wills and making applications for Probate.

The LSB will also be considering the regulation of provision of Lasting Powers of Attorney and  the increase in companies who are selling Asset Protection Trusts  at inflated prices without the appropriate back up service when these are challenged .

Again like Will writing and probate these are likely to be brought within the regulatory requirement of the SRA .

Consumer Care is a company specifically set up to look after the consumer’s interests  and to ensure the services  we deliver are in accordance with the proper regulatory requirements .

We have an in house solicitor who is regulated by the SRA unlike most other companies to ensure we are compliant on all matters we deal with for our customers.

Will and Probate Statistics

Based on a survey of 2000 adults:-

51% do not have a Will .

Those who do have a Will:-

35-44     39%

45-54     62%

55-64      67%

65+          77%

The older you are the more likely you are to have a Will.

From people surveyed :-

58% reviewed their Will within the last 3 years

30% reviewed their Will  between 3-10 years previously

61% of widowed ,separated or divorced have a Will

54% of married people have a Will.

75% who own their own house outright have a Will

Estate Planning and Inheritance Tax

54% are unaware of the ability to transfer the IHT free band between husband and wife and between civil partners

66% do not have an ongoing advice relationship with a professional adviser.

Based on 2750 consumers in England and Wales

36% had a will which suggested 27.5 million adults do not have a Will

70% of those aged 65+ had a Will .2 million of people in this category have not yet made a Will.

68% of widows were more likely to have a Will

45% of either married or divorced people had a Will.

Reason for not having a Will

42% haven’t got round to it.

30% had never thought about it of which almost 20% were aged 65+

15% felt that they were too young to think about it but intended to do so in the future including 37%  of 16-24 year olds

10% said they had not made a Will as they didn’t want to think about dying.

12% of people who had experienced illness changes in personal relationships or having children prompted them to have a Will

These are surprising statistics bearing in mind the crucial final instructions which should be contained in a Will as far as your family is concerned.

Please contact Consumer Care to discuss why you should make a Will

Disputes in Estate administration

Not all estates that are left in Wills go through probate and estate administration smoothly.

Sometimes disputes arise because people don’t receive what they expect to receive in a Will.

This can range from one particular item of personal property to a share or the whole of the estate.

For example,2^nd marriages are frequently the cause of dispute where the whole of the estate is left to the new spouse and nothing is left to children.

In this case the first spouse to die leaves all the estate to the surviving spouse on the understanding that whatever passes to the survivor will ultimately be passed on to the children of the first spouse.

The two spouses may even have written Wills in the same terms on the joint understanding that the joint estate on the second death will be divided between each spouse’s children in the shares they made a contribution to the joint estate.

Unfortunately this may not turn out to be the case.

In many cases the whole of the estate passes just to the children of the second spouse because he or she has made a new Will.

At this point the children of the first spouse who were expecting to inherit will usually try to dispute the terms of the Will.

This may be on the basis that they are entitled just on the basis they are  children of the first spouse and they have an automatic right to the estate.

Unfortunately  unless they can prove they were being maintained by their parent then they have no basis of a claim.

They could argue that their parent did not have mental capacity at the time the will was made or that the other spouse exercised undue influence in making a Will giving everything to  the other spouse.

However in most cases this will not apply and nothing can be done.

The way to avoid this is to write a trust for the lifetime of the other spouse with a gift over of the trust assets to the children of the first souse to die on the death of the second spouse .

Consult Consumer Care to deal with this for you and put your mind at rest.

Estate Administration without Wills

When someone dies without a Will they are said to have died intestate .

In this situation the estate will pass according to rules which have been put together over the years  based on what it would be considered reasonable for people to inherit in certain situations.

Although English law is different to all other European law including Scottish law because it is based on ancient Roman law English intestacy rules have carried some elements which  are similar to Roman law.

This is apparent in the division of the estate where there is a surviving spouse and children.

Over a period of many years the rules here have not truly reflected the wishes expressed in a married couple’s Wills .

For as long as anyone can remember  a standard married couple’s Will leaves everything to each other and  then  to children.This happens in probably  80% of cases .

However,the intestacy rules state that in a situation where spouse and children survive :

1 The spouse receives  £450000 and personal possessions and a life interest  in half the remainder ie spouse receives the income from the capital for life and on her death the capital passes to children equally when they reach 18 years of age.

2 The remaining half of the estate passes to the children in equal shares when they reach 18 years of age.

This is hardly reflecting the wishes of most people in these circumstances.

Until quite recently  the amount  passing to the spouse was £250000 and was for many years  so the increase to £450000 is substantial but the overall package does not fit with what people generally want  to happen with their estate.

Whatever the reason is for the intestacy rules being written in this way the fact is that you cannot rely on them if you want to pass your estate entirely to your spouse  and certainly not for you unmarried  partner  who receives nothing under these rules.

The only way to ensure your wishes for your estate are carried out is to make a Will with someone who is conversant with administering estates inheritance tax and the law of succession and who are qualified in this area .

This means that you should only  take  advice from either a solicitor practising in this area or a member of STEP [the Society of Estate Practitioners] or preferably dual qualified which is what our recommended service Consumer Estate Managment have.

Leaving money to Charity in Wills

When one thinks about beneficiaries in a Will, close friends and family are usually the first people you think about. However, it is also important to consider including charitable organisations who could also benefit from your legacy. This could be a charity you have supported during your lifetime, or a hospice which is an institution to yourself and your family.

In the 2011 Budget speech the Chancellor said:-

‘We will introduce from April 2012 this major change to our inheritance tax system:if you leave 10% or more of your estate to charity ,the Government will take 10% off  your inheritance tax rate.Let us be clear no beneficiaries will be better off as a result of this policy –just the Charities to the tune of £300 million.I want to make giving 10% of your legacy to charity the new norm in our country’.

How this would work can be seen from the following example:-

An estate is worth £850000.The Nil Rate Band is £325000.The estate net of the Nil Rate Band is £525000.10% will be £52500.

If nothing was left to charity IHT would be 40% £525000 = £210000.The Beneficiaries get £640000.

If the Will had left  £52500 to charity under the new regime  IHT will be calculated as follows:-

Value of estate                            £850000

Less left to charity                      £ 525000

Balance                                         £797500

Less IHT                                         £170000

Net balance                                  £627400

As opposed to £640000 if nothing left to charity

Onerous duties of an Executor

The duty of an Executor is to ascertain details of assets and liabilities of the estate and of any gifts made by the deceased.

The difficulty is being certain that you have taken reasonable care to find these details.

HM Revenue and Customs  says  this  in it’s Inheritance Tax customer Guide:-

‘How do I find the deceased’s assets?

Make a thorough search of all the deceased’s papers about their financial affairs.Make a rough list of their assets investments ,their other financial interests and the debts  they owed when they died.

If the deceased had to fill in Self Assessment tax returns they may have kept records to fill in those forms and these may help .Bank statements and building society passbooks  may help you to discover whether any gifts were made .Remember that although the income from certain assets such as PEPs ,TESSA’s and ISA’s is not liable to income tax both the capital and the income are liable to inheritance tax and must be included.

You may also find it useful to ask others what they knew of the deceased’s. People who might be able to help are:

• Any solicitor or accountant who dealt with the deceased’s affairs ,
• The deceased’s close family [especially to discover gifts]
• Anyone named in the Will who might know about the deceased’s affairs,
• Any close business associates of the deceased,
• The deceased’s bank ,stockbrokers or other financial advisers [the bank may have other papers or   valuables lodged with them for safekeeping].

You will need to make quite detailed enquiries so that you can find out about  everything that makes up the deceased’s estate.It is very important that you provide full and accurate information because you may make yourself liable to a financial penalty if you provide information incorrectly due to your negligence or fraud’.

It is therefore necessary to look at ,at least some of,the deceased’s bank statement and retained paperwork  to get a sense of their affairs.

Family members should be warned of the dangers of non disclosure.The penalty regime allows a penalty to be charged where an inaccuracy in the liable person’s document was attributable to another person .This is particularly rele vant to inheritance tax where Executors inevitably rely on other people to provide them with information about the deceased’s estate.

Where it can be shown that the other person deliberately withheld information or supplied false information  to the liable person with the intention that the IHT account or return would contain an inaccuracy ,a penalty may be charged on that other person.

BUT  that will not mean necessarily that the Executors are off the hook.  If the withheld or false information gave rise to those inconsistencies in the information received about the estate and the PRs do not question those inconsistencies, they may also be charged a penalty for failing to take reasonable care.

It is clear from the above that the role of Executor or Administrator  can be quite perilous and the estate administration is better dealt with by people who are experienced in this area.

Our recommended Estate administration company, Consumer Estate Management, is made up of a legal team with many years experience and would be very pleased to assist in dealing with an Estate administration on your behalf for a very competitive fee. 

Wrong Will signed by Testators

In a recent case Marley v Rawlings the facts were Mr and Mrs Rawlings each left the other their entire estate but if the spouse failed to survive the whole estate was left to Terry Marley who was treated as their adopted  son.

The Rawlings had 2 natural children but were not close to them and their intention was to benefit Mr  Terry Marley  alone on the death of the survivor.

Their house was vested in their 3 names as beneficial joint tenants and the rest od the estate came to about £70000 net.

The solicitor who had prepared the Wills visited Mr and Mrs Rawlings at their home with his secretary for the purpose of signing the two Wills.

By mistake Mr Rawlings executed Mrs Rawlings Will and vice versa.Both signatures were witnessed  by the secretary and the solicitor and no-one noticed the error.The mistake was not picked up on the death of Mrs Rawlings in January 2003.Presumably all the assets were jointly owned so that it was unnecessary to obtain a Grant of Probate.

It did not come to light until Mr Rawlings died in 2006.

If the Will was invalid the estate would pass on intestacy to the 2 natural sons of Mr Rawlings.The report makes it clear that Mr Marley will hold the solicitor responsible for the error.

The Court held that the Will could not be omitted to Probate because the requirements of the Wills Act  section 9 had not been met.This section provides that no Will shall be valid unless it appears that that  the testator intended by his signature to give effect to the Will.

In the Judge’s opinion Mr Rawlings did not intend his signature to give effect to the Will he signed.

The Will was therefore invalid.

In case the Judge was wrong  on that point she went on to consider whether the Court had the power to rectify the will under the Administration of Justice act 1982 section 20 and decided that it did not.

Section 20 allows a Court to rectify a will only if  it is satisfied that the Will fails to carry out the testator’s intentions,in consequence of a clerical error, or a failure to understand his instructions. The meaning of clerical error is wider than mere errors in transcription. In the present case there was no error of drafting whether by inclusion or by omission or by miscasting of words.

The Wills were both correctly expressed ,the error was simply that  the wrong Will was signed. It was as if the solicitor had pulled a Will prepared for a totally unconnected testator out of his briefcase and that one had been signed by mistake.

Rectification was not available.

The case is a reminder of the care that a solicitor needs to take if overseeing execution. Where a solicitor does not oversee execution if the Will is to be returned to the firm for safe keeping there is a duty to check that, on its face, and on the facts then known to them its execution was ostensibly valid.

Professionally written and updated Will

Using appropriate professional help will ensure wishes and preferences are known and specified by an individual or organisation that is reputable to ensure a valid legally enforceable Will.

Due to the complex and changing nature of family relationships it is important that a Will is up to date to prevent complications at death.

When death occurs if a professional executor is named in the Will or appointed to administer the estate at death, such as our recommended Executor company Consumer Estate Management, it will ease the burden on the next of kin.

It is notable that Will provision and the need to obtain a Grant of Probate are examples of relatively few areas in our research where a marked difference between socio-economic class is evident.

Those in the higher band were much more likely to have made a Will and require a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration than those in the lower band, a difference that indicates the need for education to encourage more widespread adoption of the practice.

It is not reasonable to just leave things to chance.It is always advisable to make a Will to ensure the future of your estate.

Will Storage

An original signed Will is the only version of the Will which can go to Probate to allow your estate to be administered in accordance with the wishes in your Will.

Therefore you need to keep your original Will in a safe, water-resistant, fire-resistant place - preferably away from your home. If it is lost, stolen or damaged in a house fire or flood for example, then you will not have a Will which can go through the probate procedure.

If you have difficult family circumstances, bear in mind that if whoever gets to the Will first finds they could benefit if the Will had never been made, then the Will may be destroyed. There is no point in putting a Will under the mattress in a secret drawer or anywhere else if it can’t be found when it comes to your family members needing to apply for probate.

You should tell your family that you have made a Will and where it is kept and how to get access to it when you pass away. Think carefully before telling anyone who is a beneficiary your Will's location. It is preferable to keep the location of your Will only to the knowledge of your Executors and the people you trust.

Consumer Care offer a Will storage facility in a fire and water resistant environment, where same day access to the Will is available.

We will also keep an electronic copy of the signed Will on our computer system as a permanent backup to the original paper version of the Will which we store.

We recommend you take advantage of this service to ensure your final wishes are carried out.

Will writing regulation – Why Consumer Care are Different

Major changes are happening in the area of Will writing.

Wills have traditionally been written by Solicitors who have undergone many years of training and practical experience. They  are regulated strictly by the  Solicitors Regulation Authority [ SRA].

However, as Will writing is not a reserved activity other competitors with little experience of Will writing have entered the Will and Probate market.

There are numerous Will writing companies around the country who are either not regulated or self regulated but none are regulated as rigorously as solicitors.

However, the Legal Services Board are now reviewing this area including dealing with Probate and it is clear that in future all Will writing will be properly regulated and more than likely by the SRA to bring firms up to a proper standard of preparation and delivery of Wills and also dealing with Probate.

This will inevitably see the demise of the many Will writing companies who will be unable to acquire the appropriate validation through lack of training in preparing Wills and making applications for Probate.

The LSB will also be considering the regulation of provision of Lasting Powers of Attorney and  the increase in companies who are selling Asset Protection Trusts  at inflated prices without the appropriate back up service when these are challenged .

Again like Will writing and probate these are likely to be brought within the regulatory requirement of the SRA .

Consumer Care is a company specifically set up to look after the consumer’s interests  and to ensure the services  we deliver are in accordance with the proper regulatory requirements .

We have an in house solicitor who is regulated by the SRA to ensure we are compliant on all matters we deal with for our customers.

How a Will can benefit you

A Will can benefit you and your family in many ways.

At Consumer Care, we focus on the future. And there is no future more important than those you care about. A Will is your tool to ensure that your wishes for your life possessions can be passed on to those you love.

Benefits include:

• Sentimental gifts can be given to those who they would mean most to
• Piece of mind that your assets are being distributed to the people you wish
• You can make sure that you don't pay any more inheritance tax than necessary. Which means more for your loved ones.

A Consumer Care Will should take no longer than 35 minutes to complete; either with our advisors over the phone, or yourself via the online system accessable from our website www.consumer-care.co.uk.

About Consumer Care

Thank you for reading Consumer Care's very first blog post!

Consumer Care is a consumer focused company that wants to provide the UK with the knowledge, resources and patiance to create their own Will.

A surprising amount of the UK adult population does not have a valid Will currently in place, 70% in fact. This shocking statistic shows how little the majority of the population are aware of the massive benefits of having a Will.

Having a Will is the ONLY WAY you can be certain that all of your final wishes are adhered to. These wishes can be anything from guardianship for your children to the location of your funeral. Therefore it is of the utpost importance that everyone should have a Will.

If you would like to read more information about the benefits of a Will, please visit our why make a Will page.