01484 435 543
Our Service
We provide expert assistance in a wide range of matters to ensure peace of mind for you and your relatives, with a dedicated Solicitor having day to day control of your file, giving you a single point of contact.
Our services include:
- executing a Will
- estate planning
- preparing or registering a Lasting Power of Attorney
- planning how to meet long term care fees
- administering an estate.
Costs
Our service represents great value for money, and estimates of overall costs are always explained clearly at the outset of any matter.
We provide fixed fees for simple Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney, while costs in relation to other matters are typically charged on a time basis.
Wills
Many people do not like to think about it but, regardless of your circumstances, a Will should be a top priority. Making a Will gives you certainty and control: you leave what you want to who you want.
If you do not have a Will then:
- your husband/wife/civil partner may not inherit all of your property
- if you are not married but have a partner they may receive nothing regardless of the length of your relationship
- if you have children it may be the courts that decide who looks after them
We strive to make things simple, transparent and cost effective, giving you the benefit of our professional service and years of specialist experience.
Your completed Will is stored securely in our waterproof and fireproof strong-room. This valuable additional benefit is provided FREE OF CHARGE when you make your Will with Bailey Smailes.
Estate Planning: Inheritance Tax
Our experts can assist you if the assets in your estate at the date of your death (including lifetime gifts which do not fall within particular exemptions) exceed the Inheritance Tax "Nil-Rate Band".
If the Nil-Rate Band is exceeded your estate may be liable to tax at 40% on the excess.
We can guide you through the various options available and can advise you upon:
- gifts: potentially exempt transfers, gifts out of income, marriage gifts, small gifts etc
- business property and agricultural property relief
- discretionary and other types of trust
- insurance policies Deeds of variation
Estate Administration
Following a bereavement, our dedicated team can assist you sympathetically and efficiently to administer the estate.
Executors appointed by the deceased's Will are personally responsible for the proper administration of the estate. Bailey Smailes can help prevent the difficulties that may otherwise hamper the estate including paying the liabilities, settling any tax that may be payable, gathering assets and ultimately distributing them.
If there is no Will then the deceased is said to have died "intestate". In these circumstances entitlement is governed by the laws of intestacy. Bailey Smailes have decades of experience in dealing with intestate estates and can help in redirecting the assets of the deceased where appropriate.
If you inherit significant assets we can also assist with the consequent tax planning minimising any tax liabilities, and, if applicable, protecting the assets from spendthrift relatives.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
It is important that anyone with assets has a Lasting Power of Attorney, which is a flexible document allowing you, for example, to appoint your spouse but with another attorney appointed to act if, and only if, your spouse isn't able to do so. We can also assist you with an ordinary power of attorney as an alternative to a Lasting Power of Attorney if you prefer.
When somebody loses mental capacity without having made either a Lasting or Enduring Power of Attorney and their affairs need looking after, then an application to the Court of Protection to appoint a deputy (normally a relative or friend of the incapable person) will have to be made.
Our experienced professional advice will help smooth the course of an application to the Court of Protection for deputies to be appointed. Our experience can also assist you in simplifying the ongoing administration on behalf of the deputy (for example, payment of nursing home fees and other bills, sale of property, claiming benefits etc).
Care Home Advice
When you or a relative have to move into a care home or a nursing home the need to arrange funding can be a significant worry.
Depending on the financial circumstances and the care needs of the person involved, the Local Authority or local NHS Trust may have an obligation to pay part or all of the care home or nursing home fees. We can reassure you by providing practical advice about the individual’s rights in circumstances such as these.
For further advice and assistance in Huddersfield, please email , or contact Ian Holmes at our Huddersfield office on 01484 435 543.
For further advice and assistance in Holmfirth, please email , or contact 01484 686 000.
