Could you be a Private Client Solicitor? Will Edition

Answer the following questions to see how well you would fare at writing a Will!

1. Beneficiaries can be executors of your Will. True or False?

2. What is the maximum number of executors you can have at one time in your Will?

3. What happens if you sell an item during your lifetime that you have referred to in your Will, such as your house?

4. Assuming that you have made no provision for such an event, what happens to your children’s share of your money if they die before you leaving a spouse and children of their own?

   1. The gift fails

   2. Their spouse gets their gift

   3. Their children get their gift

   4. The spouse and children split the gift equally

5. You are writing a Life Interest Trust Will for a married couple. This will allows half of the house to be kept in trust when the first of the couple dies, to attempt to protect against care fees later in life for the second person. How will this affect the couple’s inheritance tax planning?

6. What is the name of the Trust that is important to consider when leaving money to a person with a disability?

7. You are writing a Will for a business owner. What inheritance tax relief should you consider and how would you address this in the Will?

8. I want to leave someone out of my Will but I am concerned that they will challenge my Will once I have died and this will cost lots of money. What preventative measures can I take to stop or minimise the chance of this?

9. Peter died in late 2014. He was married to Pedro. They owned a house that was valued at £500,000 when Peter died. Pedro writes a will in 2024 and is looking to tax plan. What is the total of the nil rate bands available to him?

10. What is the effect if a beneficiary witnesses the Will?

 

Answers

1. True

2. 4

3. The gift will adeem (fail) unless there is specific provision made for such an instance.

4. C

5. As they are married, it will not affect the Inheritance Tax. The trust is treated as a gift to the spouse, who benefits from spousal exemption.

6. Disabled Person’s trust – these trusts give tax ‘perks’ to the beneficiary whilst

7. Business Property Relief – consider a business property discretionary trust to secure the relief after death.

8. A letter of explanation, a small gift to them on the basis they don’t challenge the Will, a discretionary trust, a capacity assessment and an attendance note written by a solicitor attesting to my reasons why I have made a decision, their opinion on my capacity and other matters.

9. £925,000: £325,000 Nil Rate Band, £325,000 Transferable Nil Rate Band, £175,000 Residential Nil Rate Band and £100,000 Transferable Residential Nil Rate Band.

10. The Will is still valid, but the witness forfeits their entitlement under the Will.

 

1-3

Not a bad attempt! Make sure to seek advice when writing your will to avoid any of the common pitfalls.

4-7

Good effort! Make sure to seek advice when writing your will to avoid any of the common pitfalls.

8-10

Amazing work! Have you considered applying for our current vacancy?

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