Nigel Jones, a solicitor in Cardiff, explains everything you need to know about Wills, Probate, and the Court of Protection.

1. Nigel Jones, Solicitor and
Senior Director
26-28 James Street, Cardiff
Bay, Cardiff, Wales, UK, CF1
0 5EX
Tel: 029 20 456780
Email:
nigel.jones@jmdlaw.co.uk
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

2.  Accident Compensation Claims
 Business Sales and Purchases
 Care Home Charges
 Clinical Negligence
 Commercial Property
 Court of Protection - Deputies
 Defamation - Libel & Slander
 Doctor and Hospital Neglect
 Litigation
 Residential Conveyancing
 Professional Negligence
 Wills
 Probate
 Lasting Powers of Attorney
 Care Charges
 Wealth Management
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

3. Wills
Probate
The Court of Protection
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

4. Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

5.  to appoint people you trust as executors to
ensure your wishes are carried out
 to name guardians to look after your
children
 to make arrangements for income for your
spouse/partner, while ensuring your
children ultimately receive your assets
 to avoid your estate being distributed
according to the rules of intestacy
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

6.  to leave gifts to your step-children
 to give to charities or other organisations
 to limit the Inheritance Tax payable upon
your death
 to leave gifts to people who are not closely
related to you
 to ensure your assets do not go to the
government
 To eliminate or limit potential family disputes
after your death
 To be the boss over what happens to your
assets!
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

7. Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

8.  As the name suggests, this usually occurs where
someone has left it a bit late
 Instructions were once taken (at a hospice) from
a person whose main aim was to EXCLUDE one
brother – of four siblings- from benefiting from
the estate
 Had the Will not been made, the excluded
brother would have received £240,000 according
to the rules of intestacy
 (According to the family, the brother was
excluded because he had slept with the
deceased’s fiancé. The deceased never married)
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

9. Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

10.  Who is to act as the Administrator of the estate?
 If married, your spouse may only be entitled to
part of your estate
 If unmarried, your partner may be left with little
or nothing and may even face losing the home
you share
 Those who you might wish to benefit from your
estate may not (or may receive less) while others
who you do not want to benefit may receive a lot!
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

11. Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

12.  PROBATE is the legal process of administering
the estate of a deceased person by resolving
all claims and distributing the deceased
person's property under the valid Will.
 The people who administer the estate are
referred to as Personal Representatives (or
PRs). Where there is a valid Will the PRs will
usually be the EXECUTORS named in the Will.
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

13.  If there is no valid Will, an ADMINISTRATOR(S)
will have to be appointed (those entitled to
appointed are named in order of priority from
a proscribed list - spouse, then children, then
parents, then siblings etc of the deceased)
 Distribution will be made according to
Statutory Trust depending on who survives
the deceased
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

14. Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

15.  The Deceased’s estate was valued at £4.5m
 This included 9 properties in Hereford and
the surrounding area (some rental, the
deceased’s home, his children’s homes and
his mistress’s home) some registered in his
name and some in his children’s
names, some with mortgages
 The Deceased ran three businesses and had 4
pensions
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

16.  The Deceased had several insurance policies
and had paid premiums on a number of
policies in his children’s names
 The Deceased’s Will had been drafted so that
he left everything other than his Business
assets to his wife (therefore NO Inheritance
Tax was payable on his death)
 The value of the wife’s inheritance was
therefore around £3m
 The administration of the Estate took over
one year and cost over £100,000.
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

17.  Determine whether the deceased left a Will
 Notify all concerned parties
(authorities, creditors, debtors, beneficiaries
)
 Ensure all assets are protected (home
insurance in particular)
 Deal with immediate/urgent issues
 Calculate the estate value once all
information regarding assets and liabilities
has been gathered and complete relevant
tax return
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

18.  If Inheritance Tax is payable, arrange
payment of it
 Apply to the Probate Registry for a Grant of
Probate (where there is a valid Will) or Grant
of Letters of Administration (where there is
no Will)
 Deal with all assets (gather in funds from
bank accounts, sell/transfer
home, sell/transfer shares etc)
 Settle all liabilities
 Pay beneficiaries (under Will/Statutory Trusts)
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

19. Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

20.  The Court of Protection is a specialist court
for all issues relating to people who lack
capacity to make specific decisions.
 The Court makes decisions and appoints
Deputies to make decisions in the best
interests of those who lack capacity to do so.
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

21.  decide whether a person is able (‘has
capacity’) to make a particular decision for
themselves
 make decisions on financial or welfare
matters on behalf of people who are unable
to do so
 appoint a Deputy to act for someone who is
unable to make their own decisions
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

22.  remove deputies or attorneys who fail to
carry out their duties
 decide whether a Lasting or Enduring Power
of Attorney is valid
 hear cases concerning objections to the
registration a Lasting Power of Attorney or
Enduring Power of Attorney
 hear cases regarding Statutory Wills
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

23.  A mother of a number of children – some from
her first and some from her second marriage
loses capacity
 A number of issues arose, including the
disclosure of a very dubious Will purportedly
made by her leaving her considerable estate (of
over £1m) to only one ‘side’ of her family
 The CoP appointed Deputy proposed a Statutory
Will dividing the estate equally between her
children
 The Statutory Will has to be approved by the CoP
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

24.  Costly
 Supervised and reporting requirements
 Slow
 Often contentious
 Stressful
 We recommend making a professionally
drafted Will and setting up Lasting Powers of
Attorney early so CoP proceedings will be
unlikely.
Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014

25. Nigel Jones - Solicitor - March 2014