Planning a complex Will

Specialist protection for everyday situations

Our Which Will? tool is designed to help you consider what is important to you when it comes to making a Will before meeting with a solicitor.

We specialise in complex Wills that are designed to protect your beneficiaries and your estate from particular scenarios. They can also be used to make the most of your inheritance tax allowances, especially if you own a business, property or have international assets.

You may not consider your personal situation to be especially unusual. However, if you have children; are in a committed partnership, but not married or in a civil partnership; or if you are separated or have remarried, it’s likely that you will benefit from a complex Will.

Find your will

Seeking professional advice when drafting your Will ensures that your wishes are met, your beneficiaries are left in a good position, and that chances of long and costly disputes arising are minimised. Our experience shows us that DIY Wills can be dangerous as the risk of the Will not being correctly drafted is high.

Whatever your situation, our solicitors can help you plan and create a bespoke Will that ensures your wishes are met following your death. Our Will packages start at £900 for a Standard Will and our commitment to pricing transparency means that once we understand your personal circumstances, we will be able to give you a clear recommendation with costings.

The tool takes a couple of minutes to complete and you will receive detailed information about which of our Will packages we believe will best meet your needs. This information is to be used as a starting point only; there may be finer details in your circumstances that need to be addressed.

Please contact our solicitors for a free initial consultation.

Choosing the best Will Package for you

Are you married, in a civil partnership, or in a long-term relationship?

If you are separated and do not wish to include your spouse/civil partner in your Will, please answer ‘no’.

Do you have children?

Do you wish to provide ongoing protection for your children’s inheritance once they receive it to ensure it is spent responsibly and/or cannot be claimed by third parties?

Examples of a third party are:

a person or organisation who claims your child owes them money and that the money from your estate should be used to cover the debt; and

your child’s spouse/civil partner who claims part of your child’s inheritance in a divorce financial settlement.

Would you like to benefit any named charities in your Will or allow for flexibility in how your estate is distributed?

Flexibility means that your trustees can approve changes to how your estate is used if your original wishes cannot be met. For example, your chosen beneficiaries are deceased or your chosen charity no longer exists.

Do you wish to protect your beneficiaries’ inheritance from claims on divorce and bankruptcy?

Do you have children?

Is the combined value of your estate more than £650,000, excluding pensions? As a married couple without children, your tax allowances are usually limited to £650,000. If your estate is more than this we will offer solutions through your Wills to relieve the tax burden.

Would you like to ensure that the capital in your estate remains separate from your spouse’s/partner’s assets?

For example, you may wish to avoid your estate being used in calculations to determine how much support your surviving spouse/partner receives should they need to go into a care home.

Should you die first, do you want to guarantee that your estate passes to your chosen beneficiaries following the death of your spouse/partner?

For example, you may want to ensure that your chosen beneficiaries/your children will still benefit from your estate if your widow(er) remarries.

Should you die first, do you wish to put measures in place to ensure your spouse/partner benefits from your estate through receipt of regular income payments, rather than one lump sum?

Is the combined value of your estate more than £1 million, excluding pensions? As a married couple with children, your tax allowances are usually limited to £1 million. If your estate is more than this we will offer solutions through your Wills to relieve the tax burden.

Would you like to ensure your children will still benefit from your estate if your surviving spouse/partner enters into a subsequent marriage/civil partnership? Or that the capital in your estate remains separate from your spouse’s/partner’s assets?

For example, you may wish to avoid your estate being used in calculations to determine how much support your surviving spouse/partner receives should they need to go into a care home.

Should you die first, do you wish to put measures in place to ensure your spouse/partner benefits from your estate through receipt of regular income payments, rather than one lump sum?

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Your key contacts

Tom Chiffers

Partner

Taunton

Tom is a Partner in Clarke Willmott’s Taunton Private Capital team, specialising in inheritance tax and succession planning for private individuals, farmers and other business owners.

View profile for Tom Chiffers >

Carol Hawking (previously Cummins)

Consultant

Bristol

Carol enjoys long term relationships with her clients and likes to get to know the families well so that she can help them at each key step in life with a focus on protecting the family wealth from erosion by tax and outside claims so it remains in the family for future generations.

View profile for Carol Hawking (previously Cummins) >

Paul Davies

Partner

Manchester

Paul is a Partner and head of the private capital team in Clarke Willmott’s Manchester office. Paul specialises in estate planning, Wills, & trusts for clients with complex family and finance arrangements.

View profile for Paul Davies >

David Maddock

Partner

Taunton

David Maddock is a partner in Clarke Willmott solicitors’ Taunton Private Capital team specialising in Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax planning.

View profile for David Maddock >

Emma Pope (née Wiscombe)

Partner

Taunton

Emma Pope is a partner in Clarke Willmott solicitors’ Taunton private client team specialising in high value estates and inheritance tax.

View profile for Emma Pope (née Wiscombe) >

Planning a complex Will

Specialist protection for everyday situations

Choosing the best Will Package for you

Your key contacts

Tom Chiffers

Partner

Carol Hawking (previously Cummins)

Consultant

Paul Davies

Partner

David Maddock

Partner

Emma Pope (née Wiscombe)

Partner

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