100 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
MAY 2009
BE PREPARED WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE...... (ONE DAY)
About three years ago, whilst doing some DIY building work, in the evening after a hard day in the office,
I was
unfortunate enough to overexer t and under
hydrate
myself, and woke up on the floor, to find my poor old “Her Indoors”, and an Ambulance
man,
standing over me. Now, I understand that the medical rule
is...Find a fat man on the floor uncon- scious it must be his heart, so off I was whisked to the local hospital. As we arrived and the doctor stood over me listening to the para- medic, I overheard the nurse say “Taxi Driver”? “Don’t know, looks like a builder I think?” said the doctor. Well they were all wrong,
accountant
it was an who
should have known better, and my heart was fine; however I had to take the nurse to task later and ask her about her com- ment. “Oh I don’t know about national statis- tics but
in this
hospital taxi drivers do not have a good history where heart attacks are con- cerned. Too much stress
and not
enough exercise.” I thanked her and left pretty sharpish, but I did remember that experience
well
enough to make me think about my own mortality and what would have hap- pened if that was IT, the big D. Well I would be past car- ing, but at that moment in time what position would my wife and kids be in? The truth is most of us don’t want to think about it but guess what, we all have to be grown ups and think about those left behind, what would happen to our families if we should die? Many people assume that their family will automatically inherit any assets on their death. Or they think that writing a Will is actually unlucky, or even worse accept that it is important but they will do it later. The truth is, no one knows when they will die and making a Will is an essential part of plannin g for
the
future. You should always talk to an accountant about tax planning for life or death, but there are also inheri- tance
specialists
who work with them. I spoke to Derek
Lindsey of The Mon- eta Partnership, who is such a specialist and I heard some scary stuff... Without a Willmarried couples or civil part- ners
will not
necessarily inherit all their partner’s estate (if you have children your partner will only inherit
the first
£125,000 of your estate plus any assets owned jointly, e.g. family home or a bank account). There was a case recently where a mother had to sue her two tod- dlers for a share of her husband’s estate because he died with- out making a Will. Some other not very well known facts about dying intestate: • Unmarried partners will
certainly not
automatically inherit any of their partner’s estate. • If you have sepa- rated but are not yet divorced, your part- ner will be entitled to a share of your estate. • If you have given a child up for adoption he/she will not be entitled to any of your estate. Writing
a Will
ensures that your loved ones or your favourite
charit ies
will inherit exactly what you want them to. You may have
been watching the recent BBC televi- sion series “Heir Hunters”, where Pro- bate Investigators search for the heirs of people who die without making aWill and, as a result of not leaving aWill, friends and family of the deceased lose out on what they might have had a reason- able expectation of receiving. But Wills are not only useful for passing on your estate to your loved ones. Wills can be used to reduce Inheritance
Financial and tax advisors all recom- mend having the correct Will as the first step in Inheri- tance Tax planning. If you have been self employed for more than two years you can pass your busi- ness on free of Inheritance Tax. But what will your family do with the business and are they able to run it? If they sell it they will lose the Inheritance
Tax.
care. It is estimated that about 70,000 houses are sold each year to pay for care fees. Proper plan- ning and the use of a trust in a Will can protect your house in the event that you or your partner ends up in a care home. “OK Gary” I hear you say, “But that’s just for millionaires, not for normal hard working guys like us. However, regardless of the size of your estate, if you have children under 18, have you ever con- sidered who will look after them if they are orphaned? Your Will can
Guardians
appoint and
Tax
exemption. Passing a business on via a trust in your Will can maintain the Inheri- tance Tax exemption for years after it has been sold. Wills can also be used to protect the family home against the cost of long-term
Trustees for your children. Without a Will the Social Serv- ices will decide who looks after them. And once you have written your Will, where will you keep it and who knows where it is? If it can’t be found then you haven’t got a Will. Keeping your Will safe is essential and most Will writers will be able to store it for you. After you have died your Executors must carry out Probate correctly and keep good records, This is essential if a surviv- ing
spouse/civil partner is to claim
BE IN THE KNOW... COME TO THE SHOW
SPREAD THE WORD... 27 & 28 MAY
any unused Inheri- tance Tax allowance on their death. Appointing a profes- sional Probate firm will ensure the cor- rect procedures are followed. Finally, who will look after your affairs if you
can’t say,
because of senility, Alzheimer’s or being in a coma? Your fam- ily do not have automatic rights to do this, especial ly with your financial affairs. In fact joint bank accounts could be frozen in this situ- ation. By writing a Lasting Power of Attorney (you can write separate ones for finances and wel- fare) while you have the mental capacity to do so you can appoint loved ones to look after your affairs should you not be able to make decisions at some point in the future without the need to go to the Court of Protection to ask for permission. Well there you have it: not a pleasant subje ct, but as I said before we are all grownups and these things have to be dealt with. Safe driving!
Gary Jacobs DRIVERTAX Tel 020 8529 2600
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