Single, separated, divorced, have had a civil partnership dissolved, widowed or are a surviving partner of a civil partnership? This is the Will most appropriate for you.

If you are married, couples in a civil partnership or co-habiting couples who have almost similar wishes regarding how their estates should be distributed. These are the Wills for you.

Do you want a document preparing for inclusion within a current Will? Let us know your requirements and we will do our best to help.

An expression/letter of wishes is a flexible way of giving guidance to the people within your Will. It is a separate document to your Will and, unlike a Will, it rarely becomes a document in the public domain. Always consider that your Will may not be read until a later date so any immediate wishes may be best contained in an expression/letter of wishes. We can discuss this with you.

(fee does not include the additional registration charges that must also be paid to the Office of the Public Guardian) If you feel that you may need to appoint a trusted relative or friend to make decisions on your behalf in the future, then the time to do it is now. If, for example, you become mentally incapacitated, without a Lasting Power of Attorney, an application will have to be made to the Courts and this could take up to 10 months and around £1,000 to do – and even then the Courts may reject the application and appoint Court officials to deal with your affairs. There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney – Property and Financial Affairs/Health and Welfare – which would allow your relative or friend to handle your finances and/or make decisions concerning medical treatment respectively. Should this be something you may wish to consider, or you require more information, please let us know and we will be happy to discuss these Powers with you.

Trusts are a valuable tool, one of which is Property Trusts which cater for those who are concerned about the value of their property being reduced or lost should they have to go into care and be responsible for and have care fees to pay. A Trust is created and contained within the Wills of both parties and, upon the death of the first party, their share in the property automatically passes into the Trust. The remaining share remains in the ownership of the surviving party who, under the terms of the Trust, is permitted to live in the property for the rest of their life (they are able to move to a new property and the new property would then be subject to the same terms under the Trust). Property Trusts are advantageous because when an assessment is carried out to ascertain the ability to pay any care fees, only that half share that is held is taken into account. They are also useful on second marriages where both parties want to benefit their own children. Property Trusts are, however, only available for couples whether they are married, civil partners or co-habiting couples who jointly own a property or where the property is held in the sole name of one party but is occupied by both. There are a number of ways in which to protect your assets, to ensure that they benefit those whom you intend. Discuss your circumstances with us and we can advise if we would recommend the establishing of a Trust for you.

(fee is in addition to a Land Registry search fee of £12.00 for the production and delivery of an ownership status report) If you currently hold your property with your partner as “joint tenants”, you may change this status to “tenants in common” in order that you may leave instructions for the disposal of your share in any property. All co-owners of property effectively own 100% during their lifetime and 0% when they die because the surviving partner automatically becomes the 100% sole owner. By changing the status of how the property is held, you can leave directions within your Will as to the disposal of your percentage share. Ask us how to make the change, it is simpler than you think

You can choose to have your Will stored safely away from your home for a small fee. You can also store Lasting Powers of Attorney, property deeds and any other important documents with your Will at no extra cost.

This is for where directions can be left concerning life sustaining treatment and care. This does not constitute a Lasting Power of Attorney but expresses your wishes in relation to any treatment and care which is administered or provided to you at a later date.