American wills are very different from UK wills, in the language that they use, although many clauses mean exactly the same as their UK counterpart.

Michael Jackson’s will is included here for reference and in particular for the references to one of his ex-wives. This type of clause can be used in the UK, but it’s still rare to see it used.

Click below to read the will.

http://news.lalate.com/2009/07/01/michael-jackson-will-online/

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New fee order - effective Monday 6 July 2009

The Land Registry has announced new fees for the transfer/sale of land/land & property. The fees are broken down into selected areas of application.

You can find the details online at:

erbium doped fiber amplifierhttp://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/fees/newfeeorder/”

Here’s a taster…

1. Scale 1 fees

A Scale 1 fee is payable on applications for:

the first registration of a freehold or leasehold estate, franchise or profit;
the registration of the grant of a lease;
the registration of a transfer of a registered estate for monetary consideration;
the registration of a surrender of a leasehold estate for monetary consideration.

For example, a property valued at £100,001-£200,000; the new fee will be £200 where is was previously £150. If you’d been voluntarily registering then the fee will have gone from £110 to £150.

2. Scale 2 fees

A Scale 2 fee is payable on applications for the registration of:

a transfer of a registered estate otherwise than for monetary consideration;
a surrender of a registered leasehold estate otherwise than for monetary consideration;
a transfer of a registered estate by operation of law on death or bankruptcy, of an individual proprietor;
an assent of a registered estate (including a vesting assent);
an appropriation of a registered estate;
a vesting order or declaration;
an alteration of the register;
a transfer of a registered estate made pursuant to an order of the Court (under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 or the Civil Partnership Act 2004);
a charge;
a transfer of a registered charge.

Note: In general terms, there is an abatement of the fee for the application for the registration of a charge if the application accompanies a Scale 1 or Scale 2 application. For example, in a typical house purchase, a Scale 1 fee would be charged for the registration of the transfer to the Buyer, but no fee charged for the registration of the charge (mortgage).

For example the £100,001 - £200,000 band has moved from £70 to a new £90.

3. Fixed fee applications

Most have increased around 30%

4. Information Services - Inspection and Copy

Where you want to look at your own Land Registry, records the fee has moved from £3 to £4.

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We may not want to think of cremating people as a business, but it is. The running and finances of a crematorium are controlled as businesses.

There are 200+ crematoriums in the UK, with three quarters owned by local councils. Thirty are owned by Dignity, ten by Westerleigh and ten are privately owned. If you wanted to build one from scratch it would cost around £3 million.

A new company wants to build ten new ones and buy ten from local authorities. This isn’t as strange as it sounds as many councils are financially, not doing so well. Many crematoriums are needing upgrades to meet the new EU law; regulations on mercury abatement. To add the mercury abatement system to a crematorium costs from £300,000 to £800,000.

Currently around 70% of people that die, are cremated. Almost all of the rest are buried with a few taking the scientific ‘I’m hoping for something to be found in the future’ method.

It’s been said that many people like the new style crematoriums recently built or upgraded when the insides look more like five star hotels.

Having private finance involved may help many councils from their ever increasing bills, but then they’d have to take the loss of income as current crematorium charges are at the highest they’ve been in years, with cremations costing between £300 to £400, but many are to be found in the £450-550 price range.

The new regulations should add around £100 to the cost of each cremation. All the more reason to book an appointment and talk through pre-paid funeral plans to buy at today’s prices.

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You never know when death can strike. Often without any warning whatsoever, another life is taken away.

Today, Britain will be waking up to hear that Michael Jackson died from a heart attack at his home, yesterday. No warning, no notice. Not even enough time to get him to a hospital for potential health support.

The world will go into mourning over his death. He’s been loved by many over three decades. He’s had his share of bad publicity and we may never know how much of it is true or just journalistic lies, but you can’t avoid the musical evidence. Almost every home in the UK has a copy of his album ‘Thriller.’ It has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. Some people own it on record, cassette tape, CD and now via downloads.

It’s a great shame that he wasn’t allowed the opportunity to begin his comeback tour, especially as he’d chosen London, and not his home country, to showcase his new shows.

Some sad newspaper writers will now bring out the stories we don’t really want to hear.

Some people will delve into the vaults for ‘new’ Michael Jackson’ records.

This won’t be as ‘big’ as the death of a ‘Beatle’, but it will be big, big news, and for a long time.

For all his weird and wackiness, he was still one of the world’s ‘biggest’ entertainers and entertain he certainly did.

We should all be aware that we could all go this way. It’s up to us all individually to arrange our legal documents so we’re prepared and helpful to those we leave behind.

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Friends and family will always (hopefully) be around you when a close family, friend or colleague dies. You’ll need their support. Sometimes, though, you need to by yourself and reading about death and how to cope with it can be equally advantageous.

This website http://www.obituarieshelp.org/ was started after the owner realized that there wasn’t really much on offer, on the internet, to bring together all the sources that one would need at a time of death, both in how to deal with someone dying and how the funeral should be planned.

The website is USA based, but apart from our differences in spelling English words (they speak and spell in American now, not English!), the content is very useful for all those living in the UK.

Here’s a sample from the website of how it might guide you:

There are those times when you have to write or say a few words of sympathy or pass on your condolences to a grieving family. What do you say or write? And sometime sending just the right gift can be so hard - flowers again? I want to show people that there are alternatives to the typical gifts. I’ve put it all together and I hope it helps make this difficult time a little easier.

The owner promises:

I’ll be adding to it (the website) weekly until ObituariesHelp.org becomes the one unified source online for Funerals, Obituaries, and Sympathy and Condolence resources.

While the website is heavily leaning towards the obituary side, it does have excellent sections on:

* Examples of death notices
* Sympathy words and messages
* Words of condolence
* Words of comfort for sympathy

If you’re involved in planning a funeral, then look over the sections on:

* Funeral readings
* Eulogy poems
* Examples of eulogy

Most importantly, the first step should be in arranging your pre-paid funeral plan. Buy at today’s prices to save money long term. Plan for what you want, now; not be guided by those you leave behind with what they want. Seek out one of our consultants to help you with this stage as soon as you able.

Please visit the website and tell us what you think.

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While all UK domiciled people are entitled to the full tax free band, if your spouse or civil partner is domiciled outside of the UK, then the UK government only allows an exemption of UK inheritance tax on a band of up to £55,000.

For this lower figure to be effective, the transferor is domiciled in the UK or treated as such under the wonderfully titled IHTA84/S267 and the transferor’s spouse or civil partner is neither domiciled not treated as such in the UK; both statements must be accurate immediately before the transfer from the deceased to the spouse/civil partner.

If the transferor is domiciled outside of the UK and the spouse/civil partner is domiciled in the UK, no allowance will be given on that first transfer.

If the £55,000 limit is exceeded, you can allocate the exemption in the manner which is most favourable to the spouse/civil partner.

Here’s two examples from the government’s taxation website: it’s repeated here for ease of accuracy

Example 1

In 1998, Mr A, who was domiciled in the UK transferred £200,000 to Mrs A, who was not domiciled in the UK. Of this transfer, £55,000 is exempt under IHTA1984/S18(2), and £145,000 is a PET and assumed to be exempt. Mr A dies in 2007 and leaves all his property to Mrs A, who remains domiciled outside the UK. Even though Mr A has survived for 7 years after making the transfer, the limited exemption under IHTA1984/S18(2) has all been used and is not available on Mr A’s death.

Example 2

In 1998 Mr A transfers a UK property worth £500,000 to Mrs A. Both are domiciled outside the UK. Exemption under IHTA1984/S18(1) is available in full. In 2006 Mr A is deemed to be domiciled in the UK and a year later gives £100,000 to Mrs A who remains domiciled outside the UK. The limited exemption under IHTA1984/S18(2) is not then available because the amount of exemption already conferred under IHTA1984/S18 as a whole exceeds £55,000.

Further detailed information is available here:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/IHTmanual/IHTM11033.htm

Here’s the final easy version:

If domicile of 1st to die is Non-UK and survivor is UK domicile – there is a full spousal exemption.
If domicile of 1st to die is UK and survivor is Non-UK domicile – there is £55,000 spousal exemption
If domicile of 1st to die is Non-UK and survivor is Non-UK domicile – there is a full spousal exemption.

In all circumstances, it’s better to review this taxation situation within your overall planning. Contact your local professional consultant for help and advice in drawing up your legal estate planning documents.

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It’s not just the so called ‘regular’ person with moderate wealth who can make a hash of either not having a Will or not making it complete. Here’s a couple of examples, from a Daily Telegraph article, of how either not making your Will, or not having it witnessed can cause real family hardship, even where the estate is supposed to have millions of pounds in it.

Please click the link below.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/5388908/First-I-lost-my-husband—now-I-have-to-sue-my-toddlers.html

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What is it and why do we have them in Will Writing?

It is a clause that is almost always at the beginning of a will. It sets out the information for all to understand that this Will being written now, revokes (gets rid of) all former Wills. In other words, this is now the only Will in existence for legal purposes, even if other Wills do still physically exist.

In addition, section 1 of the Wills Act 1837 also tells us that the word ‘revoke’ also means any other codicils (additions to a Will) and to any other testamentary dispositions (other letters that the testator (the person making the Will) has decided to keep with the will for whatever reason.)

A testamentary Will also includes any privileged Wills, usually made orally to a ranking officer, in action while serving for the armed forces.

Surprisingly, even if the revoking clause is missed from a Will, the making of a new Will automatically revokes all previous Wills anyway; the language just informs everyone that the fact is known.

Now we get to the confusing part; you can also add a clause that doesn’t revoke a previous Will. This is especially important if you have property abroad. If you do, you should have made a Will in that country covering just your property in that country. Then your UK Will, will not revoke that will specifically, by a special clause. It doesn’t mean that you’re not revoking your previous UK Wills.

There are physical actions you can take to revoke a Will. You can tear it up and destroy it even if you don’t have a new one, if you don’t want the destroyed one to exist, but get your next one written quickly.

If your Will is caught in a fire and destroyed, it’s also revoked, because it doesn’t exist. Get another one written quickly and in future keep it stored correctly in a proper location where it can’t be destroyed by fire, water or bomb.

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This is the wording at the end of a last will and testament where the will is executed – in other words – signed by the testator (the person making the will) and the two witnesses.

The probate registry will need to know that this part of the will has been carried out correctly.

A will is said to ‘speak for itself’ which is why we have the signing and witnessing part of the will as the deceased won’t be available to confirm the will was completed correctly.

The clause used for the attestation can vary and is a statement by the witnesses, not the testator.

There can be a simple version like:

Signed by the testator in our presence and by us in his

Some more complex versions exist, such as:

Signed by the above named testator as and for his last Will and testament, he having first read and approved the contents of the same in the presence of both of us the attesting witnesses being present together at the same time who in the presence of the said testator and in the presence of each other have hereunder subscribed our names as witnesses.

Wow, what a mouthful, but we all know what happened even if we did have to read it a few times to fully appreciate and understand what the second version was saying.

Sometimes it’s good to have a more intricate clause. If, for example, the testator’s signature is rickety or unbalanced in any way it may imply that either the testator was being coerced into making the will or they didn’t have the capacity to complete their will. The Registry will need to know if the testator knew and understood what they were doing and in particular, approved the contents before signing. If the testator can’t sign then a different permitted wording is required and someone else will sign the will, on their behalf.

Each situation needs a careful explanation and is good reason for professional consultants being available and present at the attestation of the will to ensure correct procedures are met, throughout.

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This has nothing to do with standing people up in front of a firing squad and shooting them properly, although if your Will hasn’t been executed correctly, it may become your wish.

Execution, in legal terms, is the signing and witnessing of your last will and testament – your Will. If it isn’t carried out correctly, then your will isn’t valid and you may as well have not written it in the first place. It won’t stand up in a court of law.

Correct signing and witnessing of a will

So you’ve had your will written correctly by a professional, now comes the time for you to sign your will and to have two witnesses watch you sign your will. Your witnesses will confirm that you signed your will without any undue pressure from anyone else, including the witnesses! Your witnesses will not have to read your will; they need only see the signing and witnessing section of your will.

There are a number of rules which govern how the will can be signed and witnessed and all must be undertaken to ensure your legal document is valid. Here they are:

The witnesses must be in the room with you all of the time when your will is signed and witnessed

Both witnesses must be in the room with you at the same time

Both should be at least 18 years old

The testator signs first (the person who is making the will)

The witnesses sign next, underneath the testator’s signature

The witnesses cannot be blind

The witnesses must know what they’re doing

The witnesses can’t be beneficiaries or executors of the will – if they were they’ve just ended that role

Each witness completes by adding their printed name and address and occupation

No-one must leave the room until the process is completed.

To ensure that this process is carried out correctly, LSUK professional consultants will always be present to see this procedure is carried out correctly when LSUK have written your will.

There are separate rules concerning people who can’t read English, for people who can’t write, for blind people and for people with understanding difficulties.

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