No Will.

At a time when the newspapers buzz with austerity measures and belt tightening, it might come as no surprise to find that recent research indicates that over half the population has no will.  But then, as a population, we are supposedly becoming more financially aware, particularly as over the last quarter of a century, house ownership has continued to increase, along with house values, meaning that the consequences of dying without making a will can have serious financial implications for ones heirs, particularly from a taxation point of view.

The research, which was carried out by Standard Life, found that nearly two thirds (60%) of 35-44 year olds did not have a will whilst two fifths (38%) of 45-54 year olds, a third (32%) of 55-64 year olds and more than a fifth (22%) of over 65 year olds were also without a will.

Interestingly enough, the main reason given for not having a will by those who took part in the survey, was simply not having enough time or getting around to doing it.

The research also found that nearly a third of those who did have a will had not renewed it in the past 3-7 years, with 1 in 10 not having reviewed their will in over a decade, despite changes to the Inheritance Tax rules being introduced in 2006 and 2007.

When considering whether you should make a will, there are various issues to consider, not only the additional potential burden and stress put on grieving family members, but also the additional costs and legal fees in untangling estates and potentially incurring higher inheritance tax bills.

When weighing these issues against the actual cost, both in time and money, of visiting a qualified lawyer and getting a properly executed will, it seems like a relatively straightforward decision.

If you would like to talk to FDC Law about either making or updating a will, then get in touch with us for an initial, no obligation, chat about how the process works.

FREBA (Frome Rotary Education Business Alliance)

Last month, FDC Law took part in a mock interview day at Frome Community College. Brian Noctor spent a day at the College taking part in student interviews together with the Store Manager from Asda in Frome.

The event was organised by FREBA (Frome Rotary Education Business Alliance), an informal alliance between education, in the form of Frome Community College, and local businesses, with Frome Rotary Club in a facilitator role.

Frome Rotary Club works with Frome Community College to promote business links within the area and, specifically, in trying to provide work experience placements for the students and to give them a glimpse of a real business environment through mock interviews and work experience.

In March 2010, the 350 students in Year 10 were invited to submit job applications and from these 100 students were selected for interview. Students were interviewed by panels of 2 interviewees made up of local employers.

Each student underwent a 50 minute interview followed immediately by a feedback session in which they were able to discuss their reactions and feelings towards the interviews.

It was a very worthwhile and enjoyable day and really encouraging to see how positively the students engaged with the programme. It was also clearly evident that each of the students benefitted from the experience which, hopefully, will help to equip them to deal with their real life interviews in the not too distant future.

At FDC Law, we have always recognised the importance of engaging with local school groups and over the years have given work experience places to students at schools in both Frome and Midsomer Norton and university students from the local area who are looking to work within the legal sector. In 2011, we have already confirmed work experience placements to 3 students over the summer months.

Hopefully, the mock interview programme will continue over forthcoming years as this is a very worthwhile addition to the students’ educational programme, particularly for those that may be entering the jobs market in an uncertain economy.

Why use a specialist Solicitor?

Teams to support you.

There are many reasons why, when seeking legal advice, it pays to not only use a solicitor, but a specialist.

Some people may think that the importance of using specialist solicitors, rather than a general practitioner, is often over emphasised, but here at FDC Law, all of our legal advisers are organised into specialist teams that only deal with certain types of work, such as property matters, litigation or family issues. The importance to our clients of having specialists who are fully conversant with all areas of their particular field of law was again highlighted recently when one of our probate specialists dealt with an estate where a hefty inheritance tax bill was due on the death of the client. In the Will, the individual left her entire estate to her elderly sister but the Will stated that if the sister died before her, the whole estate should pass to charity. Upon checking the sister’s Will, it was noted that, on her death, all her estate was to pass to charity also.

Looking at the broader picture, we were able to offer the sister the opportunity to vary the terms of her deceased sister’s Will and thereby saving her estate hundreds of thousands of pounds. By varying the Will to leave some of the estate to charity now, she was able to reduce the estate below the tax threshold so that neither estate would pay tax.

In due course, this could have saved hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charities due to benefit, and the client was very pleased that we had raised the issue with them.

Of course, a ‘Will writer’ or general practitioner may also have identified this issue but the more you know about a given subject the more likely it is that more complex issues that do not arise every day will be identified.

Whatever your legal requirements, we are confident that FDC Law can help you so why not get in touch with us for an initial consultation?

Empty Property business rates relief reduction - April 2011.

The newspapers continue to be awash with stories of austerity Britain, budget cuts and belt tightening.

The barrage of information on the drastic action needed to cut budget deficits and government borrowing and the current politicking and positioning can make it difficult to work out what will or won’t actually happen.

One thing however that will definitely be happening - that will affect those businesses that hold empty properties - is the imminent reduction in the Empty Properties Business Rates relief. The Department for Communities and Local Government (the DCLG) has confirmed that, with effect from 1st April 2011, the exemption threshold for Business Rates Relief on empty non-domestic properties will be cut back to £2,600, as originally planned.

It will still remain the case that Business Rates are not payable on empty non-domestic properties with a rateable value below a certain threshold. However, the current level of £18,000 (which the Government temporarily increased for the year 1st April 2010 to 31st March 2011) will now return to the lower rate of £2,600.

The obvious result of this will be that fewer empty non-domestic properties will be exempt from Business Rates and businesses with empty properties, perhaps as a result of office closures or downturns in business, will face the unwelcome prospect of having to find extra money to pay Business Rates again from 1st April 2011.

In view of the current state of the economy and difficulties faced by businesses during the downturn, many industry insiders had hoped that the threshold would not be reduced just yet.

If you would like more information on the impact on this change, please contact a member of FDC Law’s Commercial Property Department.

Wills, Charitable Giving & Tax - it's more important than ever to get good advice

Many people may be aware that leaving a gift to charity upon their death will not be subject to inheritance tax. More people are also becoming aware of the benefits of agreeing to Gift Aid in respect of donations made from their income.

However, as charities are also feeling the adverse effects of the country’s current economic plight, for those people who are minded to, there are options available where you can benefit your favourite charities other than on death and which may also have beneficial consequences for your own tax position.

Making a cash gift holds no taxation consequences for either the recipient or the donor, and similarly, people with share portfolios could consider transferring the shares directly to a charity as, under current legislation such a gift would not be subject to Capital Gains Tax as a disposal by the individual - it would also provide income tax relief. It's worth bearing in mind, however, that if the shares would create a loss in the hands of the individual, such loss cannot be claimed on a transfer of shares to a charity.

Of course, if you are thinking about making any gifts you should always consider your own personal finances and whether you can afford to make a gift and this is especially true for those who are either receiving care at home through a Local Authority or are already in residential or nursing home accommodation. Any person considering a substantial donation should seek advice from their solicitor.

At FDC Law our specialists are always available to discuss any of these issues.
For more information contact us via the website.

FDC Law talks to BBC Radio about legal aid cutting by Government

Divorce and separation are never easy, but they could be about to get a lot harder.

Under plans contained in the government’s Green Paper on Legal Aid, Legal Aid will cease to be available for anyone seeking a divorce, or to resolve issues relating to children or finances following a separation, save in very limited circumstances, where children are at risk of being taken into Care, or where there are high levels of Domestic Violence.

Marjorie Taylor, head of the Family law department, spoke to BBC Somerset’s Matt Faulkner, on Tuesday 8th February, about the impact of the cuts:

For more information on this story, click here:

Charities highlight Will-Writer's shoddy Wills

A survey of over 50 charities by Remember A Charity found unanimous support for the regulation of the will-writing sector as a third of those surveyed had experienced “negative impacts of the sector not being regulated”, such as loss of income, whilst poorly drafted wills had given 53% of them problems.

As a result, 52% of charities had had to engage solicitors to sort out the problems and 48% reported that the time to get the money was significantly increased. The survey also found that a third received a smaller than expected legacies and 11% lost the legacies entirely.

Remember A Charity is part if the Institute of Fundraising, with a separate membership of over 140 charities, including 9 of the top 10 charities by voluntary income. The survey was conducted as part of Remember A Charity’s response to the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s call for evidence as it investigates the need for regulation of the sector.

The House of Commons has produced a paper on the regulation of will-writers to assist MPs in the debate. The paper can be found here.

If you need help with your Will, please get in touch with FDC-Law via our website.