Munro Associates
Estate Planning and Asset Protection
Your plans for the future are at the heart of what we do. We at Munro Associates only work with qualified STEP members to ensure the highest standard of Will writing and estate planning.
We have been working in financial services for over 25 years, helping clients to protect what they have worked hard for and ensuring it is passed onto their chosen beneficiaries.
Will Planning
What is Will Planning?
A Will, also called a Last Will and Testament is at the heart of all professional Estate Planning. Protecting your assets, granting peace of mind knowing that you have safeguarded the future of your loved ones.
Why do you need Will Planning?
It is important to make a Will because if you die without one, the rules of intestacy apply, whereby the Government write your Will for you. These rules may not match your wishes or desired outcomes.
How does Will Planning work?
Will Planning enables you to choose which relatives or friends or charities benefit. This is extremely important if you are widowed or divorced, or have relatives or children that depend on you.
The reality is that you can put off making a Will until it is too late and this poses all sorts of problems for the people left behind and could mean that some or all of your inheritance either goes to the wrong person or to the state.
Making a Will enables you to plan exactly what will happen to your property (estate) following your demise. This ensures that those you would like to benefit actually do so, in accordance with your wishes and at the same time avoiding any possible disputes between relatives.
Care Planning
What is Care Planning?
Care Planning is implemented to help with the costs regarding moving into a care home, which in some cases can quite literally wipe out your entire savings, and in worse cases, your home may be sold to pay for care fees.
Why would you need Care Planning?
When you plan for your Care Costs and Fees, we make sure the hard work you’ve done over the years to buy your own home and build up savings will not go to waste and there will be some left for your children and grandchildren.
How does Care Planning work?
We work very closely with you to establish your goals and requirements regarding later life care planning. Then we put in place all the Estate Plans, legal paperwork and processes that you would need to achieve this.
Most of us work very hard over the years to buy our own homes and build up our savings for our retirement and would like to leave a “little something” for our children and grandchildren after we are gone.
Unfortunately, the costs involved in moving into a care home can literally wipe out your entire savings and your home may have to be sold to pay for care fees. This could mean that your loved ones could receive very little, or even nothing at all of what you originally intended them to have.
Inheritance Planning
Looking to pass on your wealth?
Inheritance planning, also known as bloodline planning helps make sure you pass on your wealth the way you want to, in an extremely tax-efficient manner.
Why Plan for inheritance tax?
Planning ahead to manage your inheritance tax position can potentially increase the amount your chosen loved ones will receive.
How does inheritance planning work?
We will work closely to understand your circumstances to create a tailored financial plan which will allow you to pass on your wealth in a tax-efficient way.
Are you worried about any of these situations?
What may happen to my children if my surviving spouse were to remarry?
Could my children lose their inheritance if my surviving spouse later changed their will in favour of a new spouse and any subsequent children?
If I already have children from a previous marriage, how do I ensure that they get their fair share?
What if my children are very young or have special needs? How can I ensure that they are fully provided for?
How can I protect my children’s inheritance from divorce settlements, creditors, future care fees and inheritance tax?
Power of Attorney
What is a Power of Attorney?
A power of attorney is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions for you, or act on your behalf, if you’re no longer able to due to accident, illness or losing mental capacity.
Why do you need a Power of Attorney?
Having a Power of Attorney is invaluable, as creating one in advance ensures that if necessary, both your financial affairs and personal welfare are in the hands of people you have chosen and can trust.
How does a Power of Attorney work?
Appointing an Attorney gives them the authority to make decisions about all property and financial affairs including managing finances and ensuring that your health care is in line with your wishes.
At any time in life, you could become incapacitated, due to illness or injury and it can be invaluable to have a reliable, trusted person to act on your behalf.
Creating a Power of Attorney in advance ensures that if the worst were to happen, all your financial affairs and your personal welfare are in safe hands.
If you don’t have an Attorney and lose mental capacity, social services in conjunction with your local authority will make all decisions on your behalf. This may not be in accord with the decisions you yourself would make.
You can appoint a professional as your Attorney for Finance and Property, such as your accountant or a trust corporation. For Health and Welfare you should appoint someone that you can trust to act in your best interests, who is able to convey your wishes to the medical profession.
We at Munro Associates can assist with all of the above for individuals as well as for businesses.
Business Planning
What is Business Planning?
Business Planning strategies ensure that the business you have built up will continue in the event of your incapacitation or death.
Why do you need Business Planning?
Your Spouse / Partner and children may not inherit your share of a business and business partners may not be able to buy out a deceased’s share.
How does Business Planning work?
We ensure that in the event of your incapacitation or death, the right person of your choosing has the authority to operate your business if the need arises.
Business planning both for the event of incapacitation or death, is critical to ensure that the business can continue and retain the confidence of its’ customers and suppliers.
A valid Will is required in the event of a death otherwise the laws of intestacy will apply. This could result in an unwanted shareholder with no interest or competence in running the business.
Would you or your business partner be content to run your business with their surviving spouse or their beneficiaries?
This could have a major impact on the running of the business or the value of the business may go down following the death of such a key person.
Without the appropriate clause in a Will, valuable tax relief could be lost which would result in higher inheritance tax being paid.
Probate
What is Probate?
Probate is the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions when they die. If you’re the executor, you’ll need to find out whether to apply for a grant of probate.
Why do you need a Grant of Probate?
A grant of probate is an official document issued by the probate registry (part of the HM Courts & Tribunal Service). It gives you the legal right to deal with the estate of the person who died.
How does a Probate work?
With the grant of probate, the executor can realise all the assets in a person’s estate and after settling any liabilities, distribute the remainder of the estate in accordance with the will.
An executor handles the entire legal process which can mean they will notify banks, relevant government departments, settling accounts, tallying assets and liabilities, paying off inheritance tax that may be owed and distributing assets and more.
It can be complex and sometimes an executor may require additional support to ensure that they meet all the legal and statutory obligations, which a professional can provide them with.
Executors need to understand that they carry a personal liability for the correct payment of tax and to ensure that all due diligence is completed before distributing any assets. Our professional associates have many years experience of successfully dealing with the complexities of many and varied estates.
This is where one of our professional associates with experience can help.