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Our Services

I am a specialist in Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Trusts, Estate Planning, Court of Protection Deputyships and Care Home Advice.
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Wills

We all know the benefits of making a Will. You can appoint people of your choice to administer your estate and you can leave gifts to friends and charity. Dying intestate (without a Will) causes many complications for example, your partner being left out and not receiving anything, family disagreements over who will care for minor children, monies going to minor children and assets, such as your home, being sold to cover payments to children.

Getting a professionally drafted Will is usually at the back of people’s minds or stuck at the bottom of the ‘life admin pile’. The offer of a FREE simple under the Cancer Research UK and Will and Alzheimer’s Society scheme could not be more attractive. If you wish to pay for your Will then prices start at £180+vat.

Your Will shall be professionally drafted by a solicitor who is a specialist in this area and who is a full member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners holding the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners advanced certificate in Will Preparation.

Using video technology to have a virtual meeting or a home visit (if requested) giving instructions for your Will from the comfort of your own home could not be simpler.
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Probate - Obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration

A grant is a certificate from the Probate Registry giving the Executors (if there is a Will) or Administrators (if there is no will and the estate is intestate) the power to call in the assets of the estate and deal with them as according to the Will or intestacy law.

There are certain assets in an estate that do require a grant of probate for example, property, land or investments. Any money in bank accounts depends on the value, each bank has its own threshold.

The legal cost for obtaining a grant of probate is £750+vat. The Court fee is £273 and any copies of the grant is £1.50 each.

I am happy to lend a helping hand to any aspect of estate administration and help as much as required. This will certainly keep costs to a minimum.  If I assist completely with a small estate (property and 3/4 bank accounts), the cost will be between £1700-£2500 plus VAT.  If the estate has a property and more than 5 bank accounts, shares and is a taxable estate, then the cost will be between £4500 and 8000 plus VAT.  The court fee is paid in addition.
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Lasting Power of Attorney

These lifetime documents assist in matters of property and finance and health and welfare should you lose metal capacity in your lifetime.

You will decide who should assist you in lifetime with money and health. This is a very important decision and you should only choose people you trust and are able and competent to assist you.

Once registered with the Office of Public Guardian they are ready to use. The cost of registration is £82.00 per power. If your income is less than £12,000.00 or you receive the guaranteed element of pension credit there is a registration fee discount.

The health and welfare power of attorney can only be used once mental capacity is lost. It deals with the more social aspect of your life, where you live, what you eat and what you were wear. It also contains a very important part that at the time of signing you decide whether you give your attorneys the power to consent or refuse life sustaining treatment. This deals with situations when you are on life support with no prospect of recovery or quality of life. Your attorneys act for you when dealing with the treatments that are being offered or the withdrawal of treatment.

Trusts

This is a complex area of law that gives you a tool to plan who and how your estate can be divided on your death. In a nutshell, you choose Trustees who are people of utmost reliability and who are able to deal with your monies after you pass away. You will nominate beneficiaries who will either receive a fixed amount or you give your Trustees complete discretion on who and how much they are given. You will write a Letter of Wishes to direct the Trustees. Trusts are a useful inheritance tax planning tool. A Trust is useful if any beneficiaries are vulnerable, on benefits, unable to handle money or you wish to ensure your wealth is past down several generations. Please contact me direct for more information.

Estate Planning

I have over 10 years post qualification experience to guide you to safeguard assets for future generations whilst giving your spouse peace of mind of somewhere to live or income for life whilst protecting assets for your children. There are so many various ways you can plan. Either lifetime planning or through a Will. You may wish to plan to ensure inheritance tax is not an issue on your death. Inheritance tax is currently 40% over your allowable reliefs and is avoidable with good forward planning.

Court of Protection Deputyships

Sadly, when capacity is lost and there are no lasting powers of attorney registered, the only option is to obtain a Deputyship order from the Court of Protection. This enables you to have access to money or deal with property on behalf of the person who has lost capacity. The Court fee is £365.00, there are additional disbursements in order to obtain the order. This can easily be avoided by getting a lasting power of attorney in place whilst you have the capacity to do so.

Care home advice

When a loved one needs care many families can find the process complex and daunting. Choosing a care home and how this will be paid for is a big decision. Financial assessments, deferred payment agreements, deprivation of assets and NHS continuing healthcare are some of the topics you may encounter. Sometimes you just need someone’s guidance and advice at some steps of the journey. I would urge you to contact me at the beginning of this journey so I can point out the potential issues you may encounter.

What our clients say

I can thoroughly recommend the professional and friendly service that Amanda provides. Despite the restrictions of Covid-19 lockdown Amanda has guided us through the process of will writing and LPA creation, making it simple for us. Amanda has outstanding knowledge of this area, demonstrated by breaking it down into simple actions and choices. In addition Amanda has a clear fee structure with transparent costing for her services that enabled us to budget efficiently. I would recommend anyone wanting wills or LPA's to use Amanda's service.
Mr & Mrs Akerman

Latest news

Care Home Spotlight

YOUR FREE WILL WITH CANCER RESEARCH UK Amanda Coates Solicitor has been trading for 6 months and has helped over 100 families to achieve peace of mind by getting a FREE WILL drafted by a qualified solicitor. More than £26,000.00 has been raise
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Trust Recognition Scheme (TRS)

TRUST REGISTRATION SCHEME (TRS)  HMRC announced changes on 6/10/2020 and implemented a deadline for registering untaxable Trusts.  The Trust Registration scheme has been around since 2017.  Trust Registration Service Manual - HMRC i
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Wills

YOUR FREE WILL WITH CANCER RESEARCH UK Amanda Coates Solicitor is celebrated her tenth year as a qualified solicitor on 15th July 2021. More than £28,500.00 has been raised by legacies in the Wills which is an amazing achievement for the chari
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Lasting Powers of Attorney

SPOTLIGHT ON LASTING POWERS OF ATTORNEY.  There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney, that is, property and finance and health and welfare. You appoint people you trust to act as your legal attorney. You can only make these documents whil
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Why It Is Important To Use A STEP Qualified Solicitor When Writing Your Will

The Society of Trusts and Estate practitioners are a world wide organisation and the professional body for practitioners in field of Trusts and Estates, Executorships, Will writing and related matters. STEP promotes high professional standards throu
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