If you prefer not to use the on line system, or if you have an estate which is either more complicated than a basic estate or requires additional matters such as inheritance tax or business assets to be taken into account, then you can choose to have one of our expert Wills lawyers prepare your Will for you. This can be done either in person or, in certain circumstances, over the telephone.
Simply give us a call to arrange an appointment or use the Call Back form to the right of this page and we will call you. We can then either arrange for you to come into one of our offices or arrange a suitable time for you to give us your preliminary instructions over the phone.
To assist you in planning your Will, we have produced a comprehensive Will questionnaire. This can either be downloaded from or web site (see the link on the right of this page) or we can send a copy to you, either by email or by a post, together with our Make-a-Will Guide which contains some of the issues you need to think about when planning your Will.
When you have thought through all of the issues, simply return the questionnaire to us, or give us a call, and we will be able to take the steps to completing your Will, and advise you, where relevant, on issues such as inheritance tax, trusts, declarations, gifts, and other matters and ensure that the Will which you make accurately reflects your wishes and is capable of putting those wishes into effect.
If your estate is worth more than the current taxable threshold of £325,000 (£650,000 if you are a married couple) then you will need to pay particular attention to inheritance tax issues.
Inheritance tax is paid at the rate of 40% is paid on the amount by which your estate exceeds the exceeds the taxable threshold. That means that for every £1 over the threshold your estate will have to find 40p in tax.
This could have a significant effect upon those to whom you are leaving your estate and, unless for example your property is jointly owned or you are leaving it to a spouse or civil partner, could result in your house having to be sold by your dependants simply to pay the tax.
We can advise you on the best way to help to minimise that tax liability and can help you to ensure that it is your loved ones who benefit from your estate, not the tax man.
For more information about Inheritance Tax, see our Inheritance Tax Fact Sheet.
If you are in business, either as a sole trader or as a partner in a business, then your estate will include the assets of your business or your share in any assets owned by a partnership. It is vital, therefore, that not only do you make a Will which will enable your business to pass to the right people, but also that provisions are made, where necessary, for the business to be continued immediately following your death.
We can assist you in this by ensuring, amongst other things, that:
For more information about Wills for business owners and partners, see our Wills for Business Owners Factsheet.
If you are a professional person, such as an accountant or a solicitor, you will need to consider not only whether your business will be dealt with adequately on your death but also whether or not you have made appropriate arrangements during your lifetime to satisfy the professional rules under which you practice.
Richard Nelson LLP are experts in issues relating to professional regulation and business and can advise you fully on all aspects in relation to the regulatory requirements and the continuance of your professional practice.
For more information about Wills for professionals, see our Wills for Professionals Fact Sheet.
Farming, possibly more than any other sector, is an area where businesses are handed down from parent to child and so it is vital that, if you are a farmer, you put in place the appropriate steps to deal with your estate.
Wills for those involved in farming need to take account of a wide range of differing requirements and interests since often the farm represents the family home as well as its source of income, and any interruption in the business can place both at risk.
For this reason we recommended that those involved in farming address issues of succession on a wider basis than purely by Will.
In planning for the future, those involved in farming need to take account of a wide range of issues which those not involved in farming will not need to consider, including tax liabilities and exemptions (for example when Agricultural Relief is available), the transfer of title to freehold land and land held under an agricultural tenancy, subsidies and quotas, to name but a few.
If, therefore, you are a farmer or are involved in farming, then contact us and we will be pleased to arrange for an expert in farming succession to contact you and discuss issues with you further.
If you own property outside of England and Wales (and yes, that does include Scotland) then you will need to exercise care in relation to how you dispose of that property.
Often, other countries will have very different succession laws from those here and, if the right processes and documents are not used then they could find that the property passes to someone other than those to whom they would want it to pass and that long delays in dealing with the property could be encountered by those dealing with their estate.
We can advise you further on how to make sure, not only that you have a Will which is valid in the country in which your property is located, but also that the terms of your Will in this country do not conflict with, or undermine, the provisions of your overseas Will.
For more information about Wills for those with property overseas, see our Overseas Property Fact Sheet.
To find out more about making a bespoke will, you can:
For a bespoke Will:
Alternatively use the Call Back box below to get us to call you.