Wills, Executries and Powers of Attorney

Even if you are not in a settled relationship and have no family, it is still important to make sure that your estate and possessions go where you wish. Whether it is to friends, or to charities you have supported during your lifetime, you may wish to control who benefits from your estate rather than distant relatives or, ultimately, the Crown receiving it. If you have no close family, it can be expensive and time consuming to trace your extended family.

You may feel as though you have nothing of substance to leave, however, it is surprising how life insurance, pension policies and property values can have an impact on your estate. No matter how simple you believe your financial affairs to be, writing a Will is the best option to protect those closest to you.

You should make or update your Will when you marry, enter into a civil partnership or decide to live permanently with a partner. If you do not, any existing Will will remain in force and your spouse or civil partner will only have a limited claim on your assets. If you are not married or in a civil partnership but living with a partner, it is even more important to have a Will if you wish your partner to inherit any of your assets. Without a Will, your partner will have to pursue a claim on your estate through the Court with no guarantee of a successful outcome.

It is also important to make a new Will if you have separated, divorced, remarried or entered into a civil partnership since you made your existing Will. A Will leaving everything to your former spouse or civil partner will remain valid even if you separate, divorce, remarry or enter into another civil partnership.

We can prepare a Will for you quickly and at reasonable cost. Please be aware that homemade Wills prepared without proper professional advice and input are frequently flawed sometimes to a point where they may not stand up in a court of law.

A Trust is the transfer of assets, e.g. property, shares or cash to a group of people (Trustees) with the instruction that they safeguard the assets for the benefit of others. Trusts can be created during lifetime or on death.

Trusts can be useful in removing assets from an estate during one’s lifetime in order to minimise inheritance tax. They can also be used to preserve and manage assets for under age or incapable beneficiaries. Our team can offer expert advice and guide you through the process, making you aware of the options best suited to your situation.

The prospect of trying to deal with the affairs of a recently departed loved one can be daunting; you may have had no previous experience in dealing with such an event and trying to sort through the effects of the deceased and winding up their estate can be both stressful and time consuming particularly at a time when you have so much on your mind.

Where a person’s estate includes a house, an application needs to be made to the Court.  Rollos can support you in preparing the required forms, applying to the court for confirmation and dealing with Revenue Scotland in respect of all tax matters.

We can relieve you of the burden of legalities and have the experience to effectively and sympathetically administer the estate.

A Power of Attorney is a document that gives someone else the legal authority to make decisions for you. Having a Power of Attorney is arguably now more important than ever. Should a time come when you’re unable to take care of your affairs,  you can rest assured that someone you trust will take care of your financial affairs and well-being and act in your best interests if you have a Power of Attorney in place. Your Attorney can, for example, operate your Bank account, sign documents for you and make decisions regarding your health and welfare if you are medically certified as being unable to make such decisions.

Granting a Power of Attorney does not mean you pass over all control of your affairs to your appointed Attorney.  You will continue to manage your own affairs for as long as you are able to do so and your Attorney should only step in when there is a particular need for them to do so.

It is essential that you grant a Power of Attorney when you are able to do so. By the time you need to reply upon the benefits a Power of Attorney offers it may be too late to make one. Leaving it too late may well result in an expensive and time-consuming application to the Court to have a Guardian appointed and thereafter an ongoing reporting by your Guardian to the office of the Public Guardian.

We can quickly and inexpensively prepare and register a Power of Attorney to suit your needs.