Wills and Trusts

Sadly this newsletter deals with what will happen to our wealth when we inevitably die.

In his recent Budget Gordon Brown cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Trusts we may have used to protect our estates from Inheritance Tax or to establish clearly who we want our beneficiaries to be.

You should immediately check on any arrangements which you have already made which make use of a Trust of any kind whatsoever. Please do not make any assumptions about your arrangements – have each of them checked thoroughly to make sure that your wishes are clear and that they will be able to be carried out as intended on your death. Argyle will be happy to assist you with this task.

The Will

We have often advised of the need to make your Will.

Sadly last month one of our long standing clients died without having made a Will. There was no Will so the Law considered that he had died Intestate and his affairs became subject to the Laws of Intestacy. Instead of his widow receiving the benefit of his estate, as he had surely intended, she will only receive the first £250,000 with the much larger balance of his estate being divided between herself and his other surviving relatives.

The ill feeling that has been generated by this situation can only be imagined by most of us.

Please do not let this happen to your family – make your Will now!

www.argylefinancialgroup.co.uk