Clear answers about Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, probate and trusts, to help you understand your options before making a decision.
Planning for your family starts with understanding what each document does. These guides explain the main choices in plain English, link to official information and help you prepare for a conversation with Nene Legal.
Making and reviewing a Will
A Will records how you want the assets passing under your estate to be dealt with after your death. It can name executors, set out gifts and beneficiaries, and include appropriate arrangements for children or a person who needs support. Some assets pass outside the Will, so a useful review looks at ownership and beneficiary nominations as well as the document.
What should I decide before making my Will?
- Who should deal with your estate, and who could step in if they cannot act?
- Who should receive particular gifts and the remainder of your estate?
- What should happen if a beneficiary dies before you?
- Whether anyone needs a trust, rather than an outright gift.
- Who you would like to care for children, subject to the legal rules on guardianship and parental responsibility.
Does signing the draft make it valid?
Approval of a draft and valid execution are different steps. A Will normally needs to be in writing, made voluntarily by an adult with the required capacity, and signed with the required witnessing formalities. Use two independent adult witnesses and follow the signing instructions carefully. A gift to a witness, or their spouse or civil partner, can fail. Ask for help if the usual signing process is difficult.
Are mirror Wills a binding promise?
Ordinary mirror Wills are separate Wills with similar wishes. They do not normally prevent the survivor from changing their own Will. If protecting an inheritance after the first death is important, discuss the ownership arrangements and whether a Will trust is appropriate.
Explore: Our Will Writing service · Choosing an executor · Guardians and the other parent.
Lasting Powers of Attorney: help during your lifetime
A Will takes effect after death. An LPA concerns decisions during your lifetime. You need the relevant mental capacity when you make one, and it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used.
Which type of LPA do I need?
- Property and financial affairs: decisions about money and property. Depending on the option chosen, a registered LPA may be used with your permission while you still have capacity, or only when you lack capacity for the relevant decision.
- Health and welfare: decisions about care and medical treatment. Attorneys can act only when you cannot make the particular decision yourself. Authority over life-sustaining treatment is a separate choice in the document.
Who should I appoint?
Consider trustworthiness, willingness, practical availability and how your attorneys will work together. Discuss replacement attorneys and what should happen if someone cannot continue. Being married does not itself give your spouse the authority created by an LPA.
Explore: Our LPA service · Business LPAs · LPA articles.
Probate and estate administration
After a death, the first questions are whether there is a Will, who is entitled to deal with the estate and whether a grant is needed. Banks and other asset holders have their own release requirements, so there is no single bank balance that decides every case.
Is a grant the same as completing the estate?
No. Obtaining a grant is one stage. Estate administration may also involve collecting assets, dealing with liabilities and tax, keeping accounts and distributing the estate. The grant timescale is not a promise that the whole estate will be finished by that date.
What should I gather first?
Locate the original Will and any codicils, obtain the necessary death documentation, list asset holders and debts, and keep a record of expenses and correspondence. Check the authority of the person dealing with the estate before arranging distributions.
Explore: Probate support from Nene Legal · Probate articles.
Your home and Property Protection Trusts
A Property Protection Trust in a Will can provide rights for a surviving partner while setting out who should eventually receive the first person’s share of the home. It needs to fit the way the property is owned and the family’s circumstances.
What does the survivor need to be able to do?
Discuss occupation, selling and buying a replacement home, repairs and outgoings, and what happens to surplus money if the survivor downsizes. These are drafting decisions: different trust terms can produce different outcomes. Trustees need to understand their responsibilities.
Does a trust guarantee protection from care fees?
No. A trust is not a guarantee that assets will be excluded from a future care assessment. The survivor’s assets, rights under the trust and the circumstances all matter. Deliberately disposing of assets to reduce care charges can lead to a local authority treating someone as still owning them. A lifetime transfer and a trust arising under a Will require separate consideration.
Explore: Property Protection Trusts · Joint tenants and tenants in common · Care fees and Will trusts.
Planning for a vulnerable or disabled beneficiary
A trust allows trustees to manage assets for beneficiaries under rules set out in the trust document. It may be useful when an outright inheritance would be difficult for someone to manage. The right arrangement depends on their needs, benefits, family support and the assets involved.
Does a diagnosis automatically qualify a trust for tax relief?
No. Special tax treatment has eligibility and trust-condition requirements. The rules for Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax need to be considered separately, and an election may be needed. A suitable trust does not automatically guarantee that every benefit is unaffected.
Why are replacement trustees and final beneficiaries important?
Trustees may need to act for many years. Name appropriate replacements and explain who should receive the remaining assets when the trust ends. A letter of wishes can guide trustees, but it does not replace the binding terms of the Will or trust.
Explore: Vulnerable Persons Trusts · Planning your child’s inheritance · Discretionary Trusts.
A straightforward way to get started
- Have an initial call. Tell us what you want to achieve. We explain the service and provide a fixed price.
- Gather the details. Prepare names, addresses and dates of birth for the people being included in your Will or LPA. Bring existing documents and relevant property information.
- Meet at home or work. Nene Legal offers free home or office visits across Northamptonshire.
- Review your draft. For a Will, we email a draft so you can check that it reflects your instructions. Once approved and paid for, the Will is produced and dispatched within five working days, often within 48 hours.
- Sign correctly and keep it safe. If you choose our storage and update service, return the signed and witnessed Will for storage and registration. We provide a digital copy and registration certificate. LPA registration is a separate process.
Read about Nene Legal, see Simon Bonanno’s Society of Will Writers listing, or browse all our articles.
Free home visits across Northamptonshire
Our practice is based in Rushden. We arrange home or office visits in the following areas, beginning with a call to understand your needs and agree a fixed price.
- Rushden — preparing for your first appointment
- Higham Ferrers — planning as a couple
- Wellingborough — reviewing an existing Will
- Northampton — fitting planning around family and work
- Kettering — preparing to discuss a vulnerable beneficiary
- Raunds — discussing home ownership and future plans
- Thrapston — choosing executors and organising information
Talk it through with Simon
Friendly advice, clear explanations and free home visits in Rushden and across Northamptonshire.
01933 588 990 · info@nenelegal.co.uk · Request an initial call
