Our Private Client team assist individuals, attorneys, executors and trustees.

Private Client Solicitors

The team has experience across a wide range of matters including reviewing and drafting Wills; administration of estates, both where the deceased left a Will and where they died without (intestate); Inheritance tax; contested probates; Will disputes; Inheritance Act claims; mental capacity issues; preparing and operating Lasting Powers of Attorney; deputyships; and establishing and administering trusts.

Contact Us

Private Client Solicitors

William Power

Email William
+44 (0) 7711 264 939
+44 (0) 117 325 1032

Private Client Services

Capacity, Deputyships & Lasting Powers of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to appoint the people you would like to look after your affairs (whether personal or financial) if you should be unable to make decisions for yourself in the future. Once you have put LPAs in place you remain in control of your affairs, as your attorneys will have no involvement until you either loose capacity, or you instruct the attorneys to carry out actions on your behalf.

It is important to remember that once a person becomes incapacitated it is no longer possible to create an LPA. That is why we would recommend that a person considers putting one in place, even when they are young and healthy. Whilst the forms and the process of creating an LPA may seem daunting, our Private Client Team has significant experience in helping people through the process.

If you are unlucky enough to have a family member or friend who does become unable to manage their own affairs and has not prepared an LPA we can assist with the whole process of obtaining the appointment of a Deputy, to manage that persons affairs for them.

Inheritance Tax Planning

People want to be able to pass as much of their estate as possible on to their chosen beneficiaries. Inheritance Tax (IHT),currently charged at 40% on the amount of an individual’s chargeable estate, is therefore an issue on many peoples mind. Our private client team can consider with you whether IHT is likely to be an issue in relation to your estate and advice on how you can arrange matters so as to reduce any IHT payable. Our Team are familiar with the issues surrounding maximisation of the £325,000 tax-free allowance (“the Nil Rate Band”), the transferable Nil Rate Band between spouses, the spouse exemption, the additional Nil Rate Band, known as “the main residence nil rate band”, currently worth £100,000 and linked to the value of the home of an individual, business property relief and agricultural property relief as well as such matters such as lifetime gifts, gifts out of income and the use of gifts to charity to reduce the rate of tax charged on the estate. They also have expertise in using trusts to assist with Inheritance tax and estate planning.

Wills & Estate Planning

A professionally drafted Will can ensure that your estate goes where you want it to. With our Wills service you can select who you want to undertake the administration of your estate, who you want to benefit and how.

This could include putting guardianship provisions in place to protect your infant children; selecting an age you would like them to inherit; ensuring that money is available to assist them with their education or life before that point; putting a suitable trust in place to protect vulnerable beneficiaries or a property or discretionary trust in place to ring fence your assets for future beneficiaries.

We will also consider with you the implications of inheritance tax on your estate and can draft your Will with this in mind.

Once your Will is finalised, we will oversee the signing process to ensure that everything is in order. We provide free lifetime storage for your Wills, all as part of the service.

Trusts & Your Family

If you are considering putting money aside to help children or grandchildren in the long-term; if you have a relation with a disability, and you want to assist them without having an impact on benefits they may receive, or if you want to give someone the right to live in a property you own so that their future is secure, it would be worth talking to us about the various trust arrangements which can be put in place so that you can help the people you care about and protect their long-term position.

Disputed Wills & Inheritance Claims

Sadly it is sometimes the case that a person dies in circumstances where their Will is unclear, or open to challenge, or without making the expected provision for all of the people who had anticipated receiving assistance from them. At Neath Raisbeck Golding Law we have great experience of dealing with these difficult and sensitive issues. This experience includes advising executors, beneficiaries and disappointed potential beneficiaries. We can provide advice and assistance in relation to contested Wills, Inheritance Act claims, Contentious Probates and claims bought against the executors by unhappy beneficiaries.

Probate & Estate Administration

We understand how hard it can be when a loved one passes away. The process of sorting out their estate can look daunting. Our private client team has wide experience in assisting with all of the aspects associated with the administration of an estate.

They are here to provide advice at a difficult time and, if required, to assist with all or any of the aspects of the administration. Whether you need help in tracking down a Will and tracing the executors and beneficiaries or advice regarding Inheritance Tax, the distribution of the estate, the preparation of estate accounts or the advisability of preparing a Deed of Variation, the private Client team can assist.

In circumstances where the deceased did not leave the will we can provide help with administering the estate in accordance with the Intestacy Rules.

Whether you just need someone to talk things through with or you want to hand over the complete administration of the estate, our private client team is there to help.

Trusts & Your Home

If you and a partner or friend are looking to purchase a property together or if you already own a property with someone else or if you are assisting a relation with buying their first home, it is important to check that appropriate arrangements are in place regarding the management and ownership of the property and what is to happen to the proceeds when the property is sold.

We can assist you with a Declaration of Trust tailor-made to fit your particular circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Qu: What is a Trust?

A Trust allows the person creating it to put aside money for a beneficiary or beneficiaries (such as their children), under the control of someone they trust, (such as a parent or guardian).

Qu: What is a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?

An LPA allows a person to appoint someone they trust to manage their affairs, should they ever lose the capacity to deal with their affairs themselves.

Qu: Why do I need a Will?

Without a Will in place, a person’s estate will pass under the rules of intestacy. This can cause delay in administering the estate, added cost, hardship for loved ones and ultimately mean the people you want to inherit, may not receive anything and instead the estate passing to estranged family members or even the state.

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