Solicitor's Advice with Hermeling Solicitors

Welcome to our new website

2012-02-02T22:50:00.001Z

Happy New Year!

Hermeling Solicitors has a new website. Take a look at http://www.Hermeling.co.uk

Your solicitor - qualified to answer

2010-08-08T13:30:00.004+01:00

This year Hermeling Solicitors is supporting the Law Society campaign "Your solicitor - qualified to answer". You can find more details of the campaign by clicking on the above title.

Hermeling Solicitors will answer your queries on Wills, Probate, Trust and Lasting Power(s) of Attorney.

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk , telephone us on 020 8819 4911 or visit our website for our services www.hermeling.co.uk.

Estate Planning & Inheritance Tax

2008-06-02T19:07:00.007+01:00

Estate Planning and making your Will is not a subject that is on our daily “to do lists.” Nevertheless, you should take some time to think about it as you will be able to direct your hard earned money away from the tax man towards your chosen beneficiaries or
simply for your benefits. Estate planning can be outside your Will (lifetime estate planning) or within your Will, another very important reason to make or update your Will.

Estate planning will benefit anyone who has assets including property above the nil rate band. The current nil rate band is £312,000 and assets above the nil rate band are subject to Inheritance Tax at 40% on death. Put simply and excluding exemptions, if you have £50,000 above the nil rate band at death, your estate will pay £20,000 to the Tax Office. Whereas if you had undertaken some estate planning either within or outside your Will, you could have saved the entire amount.

Hermeling Solicitors is based in Bromley. Aima Hermeling is the principal of the firm and has more than 15 years legal experience.
For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk , telephone us on 020 8819 4911 or visit our website for our services www.hermeling.co.uk.

CHARITY DRIVEN WILLS

2008-05-01T19:04:00.002+01:00

We have spent the last few months preparing and completing Wills under the Charities' driven “Free Wills Fortnight” which took place in January. The outcome has been successful, with Hermeling Solicitors successfully preparing quite a good number of Wills for members of the public including those who wanted to leave legacies to their chosen charities.

“Now” is always the right time to make your Wills or update the same if you have not done so. Hermeling Solicitors can help you with all your enquiries.

Did you Know?

“Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs, therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity” Socrates, 470-399 BC, Greek Philosopher

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk , telephone us on 020 8819 4911 or visit our website for our services www.hermeling.co.uk.

17-31 January 2008 - Free Wills Fortnight

2008-01-01T23:26:00.001Z

AGED 55 or OVER? MAKE YOUR WILL(s) FREE!

This firm working together with the Charities listed below is offering free will writing services to members of the public aged 55 years and over.Now you can have your Will written free of charge by a solicitor and at the same time leave a legacy to a charity of your choice if you so wish. You are not obliged to leave a legacy to any of the listed charities but they will be grateful if you do as without donations from generous members of the public, they will not be able to carry out their good works!

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk , telephone us on 020 8819 4911 or visit our website for our services www.hermeling.co.uk.

Home Information Pack(s)

2007-12-01T14:18:00.001Z

The government announced on the 22nd November that Home Information Packs (HIPs) and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) will be rolled out to the rest of the market from December 14, 2007.
Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said: “HIPs and EPCs are already helping consumers to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills and are cutting search costs too. All home buyers will be able to benefit from energy efficiency advice, with those receiving low green ratings of ‘F’ and ‘G’ especially targeted for support and grants to make improvements to cut their costs and carbon emissions.”

Did you Know?
That in 1918 women over 30 voted in a British general election for the first time.

That William Pitt the younger became Britain's youngest prime minister, aged 24, in 1783.

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk , telephone us on 020 8819 4911 or visit our website for our services www.hermeling.co.uk.

We will still need Discretionary Trust Wills for effective Tax Planning...

2007-11-04T23:42:00.001Z

The chancellor announced on 9 October that the inheritance tax nil-rate band is transferable between spouses and civil partners. The legislation to effectively translate the above into law will be introduced in the 2008 Finance Bill, but the above change is to take effect immediately.
Therefore, nil-rate band not fully utilised by a deceased spouse is transferable to the surviving spouse or civil partner to be utilised in addition to their nil-rate band.
Amongst the important features of the current changes are that the surviving spouse or civil partner must die on or after 9 October 2007 and it does not matter when the first spouse or civil Partner died.

Did you Know?
“If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbours. There is no other.”
Carl Schurz (1829 - 1906)

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk , telephone us on 020 8819 4911 or visit our website for our services www.hermeling.co.uk.

Lasting Power of Attorney – in effect from 1st October 2007.

2007-10-04T23:25:00.001+01:00

See our blog of May 2007 for further information on Lasting Power of Attorney(s).

Existing Enduring Power of Attorney(s) remain valid through out the life time of the donor(s) of the power, notably no new Enduring Power of Attorney(s) can be made after 1 October 2007.

Did you Know?
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, née Margaret Hilda Roberts British Conservative Party politician and prime minister (1979–90), was Europe's first woman prime minister. She was the only British prime minister in the 20th century to win three consecutive terms and, at the time of her resignation, Britain's longest continuously serving prime minister since 1827. She was born October 13, 1925.

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk , telephone us on 020 8819 4911 or visit our website for our services www.hermeling.co.uk.

Home Information Packs (HIPs)

2007-09-01T20:55:00.001+01:00

The Government has announced that Home Information Packs (HIPs) and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) will be rolled out to three bedroom properties from 10 September 2007.

The Government confirmed that there will be enough energy assessors and therefore making it possible to roll out HIPs to three bedrooms this month.

The key question is whether HIPs will improve the process of buying and selling properties in the UK. The general public should be able to answer this question in the coming months.

There is no doubt that Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are not just going to be useful for selling our properties but may also help in reducing our energy bills generally if well utilised. HIPs and EPCs will give house buyers energy ratings for homes for the first time, from A to G - similar to consumer friendly ratings for fridges.

Did you Know?

The word "Chiliad" refers to a period of 1000 years but the widely used word is “millenium” . Both words trace back to roots that mean “thousand”. “Millenium” from the Latin word “mille” and “Chiliad” is a descendent of the Greek word “Chiloi”

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk or visit our website for our full services http://www.hermeling.co.uk/.

Will Awareness!!!

2007-08-01T22:42:00.000+01:00

Our “Will Awareness” Campaign continues...

No doubt, some of you will like to determine the final destination of your assets, and if you are reading this article, then you have the opportunity to do so by making the first move to contact Hermeling Solicitors for a free consultation.

On the Intestacy Rules

When a person dies without having made a Will, or where an existing Will is found to be invalid for any reason (not having been made and executed in accordance with the Wills Act) the Statutory rules will determine how the Deceased's estate will be distributed.

The Statutory Rules take into consideration whether the intestate (the Deceased person) is survived by a spouse or civil partner, then, issues, parents, siblings and lastly other more remote relatives, and creditors of the estate are not left out, before the estate is finally distributed in accordance with the intestacy rules.

In most cases, determining the intestate surviving relatives who can share in the estate can lengthen the time it takes to complete the administration of the estate.

Where there are no surviving relatives entitled to the Deceased's estate, the estate passes as bona vacantia (nobody entitled by law to inherit) to:

i) the Crown
or
ii) the Duchy of Lancaster (if the deceased was resident in the Duchy of Lancaster)
or
iii) the Duchy of Cornwall (if the deceased was resident in the Duchy of Cornwall).

I am sure you will agree that amongst the many reasons to make a Will, determining the final destination of your assets is a very important reason. Receiving the appropriate legal advice; making sure that your Will complies with your wishes, that it is validly made and executed are good reasons to seek a solicitor specialised in this area of Law.

On Conveyancing

Are you ready for HIP?

The government's proposal of HIP launch on 1^st of August to initially apply to properties with four bedrooms or more, might just be what is required for the general public to get used to the idea of HIP.

Nonetheless the issue of insufficient number of Assessors still need to be solved before it can be rolled out to cover the average to smaller homes.

How energy efficient is your home?

Take a look at your boiler, light bulbs, windows, doors and cavity insulation (are they properly glazed?)to give you an indication of your score efficiency before the EPC inspector arrives.

Did you Know?

The term "White Paper" has no formal definition. However, White Papers generally contain proposals and statements of Government Policy.

The term "Green Paper" has no formal definition either. However, Green Papers generally put forward ideas and opinions for consideration, public discussion and consultation.

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk or visit our website for our full services www.hermeling.co.uk.

Will Awareness!!!

2007-07-02T22:15:00.000+01:00

Have you made or updated your Will?

Most of us are hesitant of making a Will, making a Will no doubt confirms our awareness of the most certain incident that will happen to us all – death. Unfortunately not making a Will does not make it less certain, but instead may actually create chaos and unhappiness to loved ones left behind. Why? Because we have not made the time to make a Will directing our assets to our chosen beneficiaries.

Five Good reasons to make your Will, although there are many more!:

1. An opportunity to review your assets and debts and to find out if you are leaving 40% of your net assets less the nil rate threshold (currently £300,000) to Inland Revenue.

2. Depending on your findings above, you may decide to plan your estate more efficiently to reduce inheritance tax, benefiting your loved ones and other beneficiaries.

3. Again depending on your findings, you may decide to take the route of life time estate planning, making use of all tax free or reduced tax schemes to benefit yourself and your beneficiaries and ultimately reducing inheritance tax on death.

4. Your circumstances may have changed; the beginning of a new relationship, birth of a child, a relationship break-up or death and you now wish to ensure that the welfare of your loved ones (children, partners, friends) have been considered in your Will.

5. Most importantly, you wish to ensure that your assets are directed to your chosen beneficiaries, and you can only do this by making your Will. Where a person dies without having made a Will, the person is described as having died intestate and his estate will be administered and distributed in accordance with the Intestacy rules – under the administration of Estate Act 1925 as amended from time to time.

Did you Know?
London a culturally diverse city is made up of 33 boroughs including the oldest, the corporation of London. More than seven million people live in London with more than three million households making it the biggest city in Western Europe. With such a culturally diverse population, more than 300 languages are spoken in the city.

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk or visit our website for our full services www.hermeling.co.uk.

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Cohabiting couples beware!

2007-06-02T22:13:00.000+01:00

We are running a “Will Awareness” Campaign, which is currently on-going.

To Our Valued Clients; get your questions ready, free legal consultation on:
Wills, single and mirror Wills, Discretionary Trust Wills, codicils and more, Inheritance Tax savings, Enduring Power of Attorney and the Mental Capacity Act, and more at Hermeling Solicitors

Cohabiting couples beware!
The recent decision in Stack versus Dowdon stated that property bought in both names of a cohabiting couple would be considered as owned in equal shares between the partners except if the property document specifically states otherwise.(the TR1 and a declaration of Trust would help in stating the actual share of each partner/owner and even stating their contributing share to the purchase price).

In the above case, although the property was in the names of both S and D, the house of Lords found in favour of D who had argued that she was entitled to a much a larger share of the property (65%) as she had contributed and covered most of the cost of the property she shared with S for 20 years. The Law Lords stressed that their decision was based on the “very unusual” circumstances in this case.

Cohabiting couples whose assets are owned in both names or in only one name, but their daily lives reflect a different story need to beware that they (their interests) will not be protected financially should there be a breakdown of the relationship. For example; a partner contributing in non-monetary ways towards the relationship enabling one of the partners to focus on a full-time job to pay the mortgage, or another scenario where one of the partners contributes towards repairs and decorations on the property, or as in the above decided case where one of the partners covered most of the cost on the property. For any of the above interests to be protected, the couple need to ensure that there is a legal document in place signed by both parties covering such interest. Therefore if you are unsure about your situation or just wish to know whether your interests are protected, I would suggest that you seek legal advice.

Did you Know?
“Of all things, good sense is the most fairly distributed: everyone thinks he is so well supplied with it that even those who are the hardest to satisfy in every other respect never desire more of it than they already have.”
René Descartes, Discourse on Method, 1637

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk or visit our website for our full services www.hermeling.co.uk.

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The Mental Capacity Act

2007-05-02T22:10:00.000+01:00

The Mental Capacity Act received Royal Assent on 7 April 2005. Some parts of the Act came into effect in April 2007 with the rest commencing in October 2007.

Parts of the Act that came in to effect in April 2007 include the new criminal offence of ill-treatment or wilful neglect of people lacking mental capacity, and the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate Service in England (IMCAs).

Other parts of the Act including the Court of Protection, the Office of the Public Guardian, Lasting Powers of Attorney and the IMCA service for Wales will come into effect in October 2007.

In the autmn of 2006, 7th of September to be precise, the Department for Constitutional affairs (DCA) published a public consultation inviting comments on the proposals for a new fee regime to be charged by the court of protection and office of the public guardian.

The result of the public consultation was published on 30th of April and a brief summary of some of the fees decided on are as follows:

No increase in the Registration of Enduring Power of Attorney which remains at £120

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) registration fees will be £150 for each separate form.
LPA consist of two parts; the personal welfare section and the property and financial affairs section, each with its own form. Therefore allowing a person the option to create only one type of LPA or both and also to use different attorneys for each.

There will be no application fee for someone objecting to an LPA or EPA prior to registration where the person is entitled to do so by statute.

Other fees considered include court application and hearing fees, fees relating to deputies; set up fee and supervision fee. The new fees structure to be set out in statutory instruments are expected before implementation date of October of the new court of protection and Office of the Public Guardian.

Did you Know?
“Vox pop” translating as “popular opinion” originated from the Latin word “Vox populi” which literally translates as “the voice of the people” and the above Latin word is from the longer maxim “vox populi, vox Dei” meaning “The voice of the people is the voice of God” but implies that “The will of the masses – right or wrong- is often irresistible.

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk or visit our website for our full services www.hermeling.co.uk.

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Inheritance Tax nil-rate band

2007-04-02T22:08:00.000+01:00

The Inheritance Tax nil-rate band for the current tax year is £300,000, a small jump of about 5% from £285,000 for 2006/2007 tax year (6th April 2006 to 5th April 2007).

Inheritance Tax payable on assets above the nil-rate band is 40% (old or no news to most of you).

Interest Rate payable on late payment of inheritance tax is currently 4% on the tax, calculated daily from end of the due date.

Did you Know?
April is National Poetry Month;

For more information contact contact@hermeling.co.uk or visit our website for our full services www.hermeling.co.uk.

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