Wednesday Breakfast Club - Guest Day 7th of September

Are you looking for a chance to meet other business people to network with?

Are you looking to join a proactive, vibrant and friendly group who want to share contacts, ideas and work together?

If you answered YES to these questions then why not come along to the Bicester Wednesday Breakfast Club on 7th of September when we will be holding our guest day.

We meet at the Littlebury Hotel in Bicester at 7.15am till about 9.00am and on the 7th of September we are hosting a guest meeting for people to come along and see for themselves what it's all about.  At this meeting Richard Clapham from the Best of Bicester will be doing a short 10 minute presentation on Marketing strategies.  All you have to do is let me know you are coming along and on the day be prepared to pay £10 for a delicious cooked breakfast.

Contact me for more info or to let me know you will be coming along. 

The invitation is out for the next Business Biscotti meeting on the 17th of August.  All welcome.

 Bicester Business Biscotti

We look forward to welcoming you at the Bicester Business Biscotti Networking event on Wednesday August 17th between 0930 and 1130 at Trinity Chapel Street Bicester. Business Biscotti is what networking is all about - meeting and forming business relationships with like-minded people.

At Bicester Biscotti you'll find:

• It's free! - just buy a tea or coffee.
• Networking for all - There are no limits on who can attend: All professions and any number of the same. Men & women welcome
•   Informal networking - We feel that open networking allows you to forge the relationships you need to do business with each other.  You make the contacts, we provide the environment.
• You can come and go when you like - Arrive at any time between 0930 and 1130 and leave at your leisure.  Because there is no formal start, finish or set agenda you can make it work for you.  

It's all about relationships and trust - building both takes time and effort but the rewards are limitless.  At Business Biscotti we are passionate about true networking.  Not just making lots of contacts and filling up your business card box, anyone can do that.  It's about communication, trust and building relationships that lead to lasting and mutually rewarding business.

So put the date in your diary - come along and bring anyone you think will benefit.  Just dip in and out as you please.  The meeting and the philosophy are simple;   if you want to network, make contacts and forge business relationships in an informal environment try Business Biscotti.

Please feel free to forward this invitation and bring friends along. If you haven't yet registered on the Business Biscotti web site, do take a look - there's a great online community there and it's all free.

Bicester Business Biscotti Free Informal Networking Event,

Next Event: August 17th between 9.30am and 11.30am

www.businessbiscotti.co.uk

Protecting Your Home from Long Term Care Fees Assesment

Property Protection Trust Will

The Property Protection Trust Will is particularly suitable for married, unmarried and same sex couples (who own their home) in the following circumstances: 

• Mature couples concerned about losing their home to pay for care fees  
• Couples where one or both partners have children from previous relationships
• Couples who individually wish to ensure the inheritance of their children (or others) without forcing their partner to sell their home
• Couples where there is a significant age difference between partners

The Threat Posed by Long Term Care Fees

In the UK nearly a million people were living in nursing, residential or long term hospital care in 2005. The cost of caring for the growing army of pensioners is predicted to soar to nearly £30 billion by the year 2030. Women have a one-in-four chance of needing long term care, and men a one-in-six chance.

Whilst the government will pay those costs relating to nursing or medical care (the time spent by a nurse with the patient etc), the individual is liable for the costs of residential and personal care, often called social care, which is means-tested.

If you have assets up to £22,250 you have to pay a contribution to social care costs. If you have assets over £22,250, you have to pay all social care costs! These costs are likely to amount to £20,000 - £30,000 per year or more. However, the family home will be disregarded as part of that person's assets if it is occupied by a partner or other qualifying person, which means that the local authority will not include the value of the house when assessing the person's ability to pay care fees.

If a person has to go into care, then under the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983, local authorities can charge residential care fees to (ie run up a bill against) that person's home. After that person's death, the local authority would normally expect the person's representatives to sell the property to pay the care costs. Furthermore, as a last resort a local authority can sell the deceased's property - if it obtains a court order - in order to meet the charge (or bill).  

Your home could be under real threat if you have to go into care and your partner has already passed away. Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow estimated that 70,000 homes are sold each year (200 per day) to pay for care fees, meaning that the relatives of those people will not now be able to inherit the family home or the proceeds from the sale of the property.

In effect, if one of you dies and the surviving partner has to go into care, this can amount to a 100% tax on your estate above £22,250. Therefore, to do nothing could be the equivalent of bequeathing your home to the local authority rather than to your family.

The Solution?

The Property Protection Trust Will has been specially designed to protect part or your entire home against care fees in certain circumstances.

Bicester Wills can draw up a Property Protection Trust Will for you, and will also register a "Deed of Severance" for you at HM Land Registry if applicable.  

How a Property Protection Trust Will works 

Ownership of the property must first be changed from "joint tenants" to "tenants in common" by making a Deed of Severance, resulting in each partner then owning, for example, 50% of the house. If a property is owned as "joint tenants", both partners each own the whole of the property and on death the surviving partner will inherit the whole house, irrespective of what is stated in the deceased's Will. However, as "tenants in common" each partner can leave their own share of the property to whom they like in a Will. 

On the death of the first partner, the deceased partner's share of the house is left to certain beneficiaries (eg children) in a Trust, at the same time specifically allowing the surviving partner to continue living in the house rent free for the rest of their life. 

If the surviving partner then has to go into care, the deceased partner's share of the house cannot be assessed for care fees as that share does not belong to the surviving partner (it belongs to a Trust). The most that a local authority could therefore claim to pay for care fees is the surviving spouse's half share of the house. However, a market valuation may result in a "nil valuation", meaning that the local authority would disregard the whole property when assessing your liability for care fees. 

The beneficiaries of the first partner to die will inherit that share on the death of the second partner (and if the second partner names the same beneficiaries in their Will, then they will inherit both shares - ie the whole - of the property). 

Other Benefits of a Property Protection Trust Will

An added benefit of a Property Protection Trust Will is its inherent flexibility regarding the property. For example, the surviving spouse can move house, downsize etc and the terms of the Trust will still apply to the new house. The house could even be sold and the interest from the deceased partner's capital share could provide an income to the surviving partner. 

A Property Protection Trust Will can also be beneficial for young couples, couples with a significant age difference and couples who have children from a previous relationship. Should one partner (eg the older) die, there is a possibility that the surviving partner may remarry or co-habit and have more children. If so, how can the original partner ensure that his/her children will inherit his/her share of the property? The answer to this delicate matter is to make a Property Protection Trust Will, leaving his/her share of the house to his/her children in a Trust. They will then be certain to inherit their parent's legacy on the death of the second partner.

Drawbacks of a Property Protection Trust Will

The only scenario in which a Property Protection Trust Will does not protect the house from being used to pay for care fees is if both partners have to go into care, as obviously the Will only comes into effect on death.

Further professional/legal advice may be needed to set up the Discretionary Trust after the first death, at a modest extra cost.

Why can't we simply give our house to our children / family?

It is illegal to deliberately transfer your own property to your family or trusts in your lifetime if the prime motive is to avoid paying long term care fees. For example, simply giving your house to your children may be interpreted as "deliberate deprivation of assets". Local authorities can take the property back from the recipients if they can prove that the objective was to avoid care fees. However, it is not illegal to leave your share of your property to a Trust in your Will. (Please note - you should think carefully before giving the whole of your property away to children or family members in your lifetime, because you could become homeless should your children get into debt! Also, you may have to pay income tax on the "benefit in kind").

Contact Bicester Wills to discuss how this important planning tool can be incorporated into your Will. 

www.bicesterwills.co.uk

gail@bicesterwills.co.uk

01869 244329

07817 685043

Let's Talk About it - Dying Matters

According to a survey carried out on behalf of The National Council for Palliative Care the following was found

• 81% of people have not written down any preferences around their own death, and only a quarter of men (25%) and just over one in three women (35%) across England have told anyone about the funeral arrangements they would like to have after they die.
• 56 -70% of people would prefer to die at home, yet of the 500,000 people who die each year in England, 58% die in hospitals.
• Nearly two-thirds of people (60%) have not written a will – including a quarter (25%) of over-65s. 

Without communication and understanding, death and terminal illness can be a lonely and stressful experience, both for the person who is dying and for their friends and family. Dying people and their families can experience a tremendous sense of isolation and can feel shut out of social circles and distanced from their communities.

A lack of conversation is perhaps the most important reason why peoples’ wishes go ignored or unfulfilled; if we do not know how to communicate what we want, and those around us do not know how to listen, it is almost impossible to express a clear choice.

It has been said that what we fear most about dying is the associated loss of control. By empowering patients to express their wishes, that control can be restored.

The Dying Matters Coalition believes that promoting openness and communication are the first steps to achieving this. They are committed to supporting changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours around death and dying, and aim to encourage a greater willingness to engage on death and bereavement issues. http://www.dyingmatters.org.uk/

Reasons Why a Discretionary Trust in your Will is still a good idea.

Discretionary Trust, Wills & Inheritance Tax

Although any unused nil rate band is transferred to a surviving spouse or civil partner, making provision for a discretionary trust in your will could still be worthwhile.

How do the inheritance tax rules work?

The first slice of any individual’s estate, including gifts that they have made in the last seven years, is generally free of IHT. This slice, referred to as the ‘nil rate band’, and is currently £325,000.. Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the amount that exceeds the nil rate band.

Any unused nil rate band can now be transferred to a surviving spouse or civil partner. This means that where the second death occurs on or after 9^th October 2007, the benefit of any unused nil rate band on the death of the first spouse is transferred to the estate of the surviving spouse, even where the first death occurred before 9^th October 2007.

The amount of the nil rate band potentially available for transfer will be based on the proportion of the nil rate band that was unused when the first spouse died. The following examples explain how this works:

Example 1
On the first death none of the original nil rate band (say £150,000) was used because the entire estate was left to a surviving spouse and benefited from the spouse exemption. If the nil rate band when the surviving spouse dies is £350,000, the available nil rate band on the second death would be increased by 100% to £700,000.
Example 2
If on the first death the chargeable estate is £150,000 and the nil rate band was £300,000, then 50% of the original nil rate band would be unused. If the nil rate band when the surviving spouse dies is £350,000, then the total nil rate band available on the second death would be increased by 50% to £525,000.
The amount of nil rate band that can be accumulated by any one surviving spouse is limited to the value of the nil rate band in force at the time of their death. This means the maximum anyone is entitled to is double the nil rate band on their death.

Why include a discretionary trust in your will?

Previously, well advised couples might have included a discretionary trust in their will to utilise the nil rate band on the first death rather than wasting it by passing assets to the surviving spouse under the spouse exemption. Although any unused nil rate band can now be transferred to the surviving spouse or civil partner, there are still circumstances where this type of planning remains beneficial.
These circumstance include:

• complex succession plans, particularly where there is a second marriage and/or step children
• estates containing assets where the value is expected to grow faster than the anticipated future increases in the nil rate band allowance
• estates containing assets eligible for business property relief or agricultural property relief.

What is a discretionary trust?

A discretionary trust is a very flexible type of trust. The trustees of the trust own the trust’s property on behalf of the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries need not all even be born at the time the trust is created.
The trustees can pay out income or capital to any one or more of the beneficiaries entirely at their own discretion. No beneficiary has a right to demand income from a discretionary trust.

How do I provide for the survivor?

The surviving spouse or civil partner can be included as one of the beneficiaries of the trust. The trustees can be empowered to pay out income or the underlying capital to the surviving spouse or civil partner at their discretion. Thus the surviving spouse or civil partner can enjoy both the income and capital of the trust.

How do you guide the trustees?

This is usually achieved by leaving a ‘letter of wishes’ with the will. Such letters are quite usual and are read alongside the will, though they are not binding on the trustees. It is quite normal for such a letter to state that the first aim for the trust is to ensure adequate provision is made for the surviving spouse or civil partner for the remainder of his or her days. The letter will usually say what is desired to happen thereafter, such as passing assets to the children.

How does the trust operate?

The executors will pass the assets that are to be the trust property to the trustees. Very often, the trustees are the same people as the executors. In this case, they simply own the property as trustees as opposed to holding it as executors.
The trustees will then need to register the trust with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) who will send a short form for the trustees to complete. This enables HMRC to register the trust.

What sort of property should be included in the trust?

In many instances, it will not matter what property is included in the trust. However, where a person holds business or agricultural property, significant tax advantages can be obtained in structuring legacies between the trust and a surviving spouse or civil partner and further tax planning advice should be sought. Further advice should also be sought where all or part of the nil rate band legacy will need to be satisfied by a transfer of the family home, as additional structuring will be required to ensure that the planning remains effective. Drafting of the clauses can be critical to ensure that no unexpected tax charges arise eg stamp duty land tax.

Who should I nominate as trustees?

This is a very personal decision. Essentially, you will probably want to choose trusted family members or close friends. You should check that the people you nominate are willing to act for you. You might also wish to include a professional trustee, though this may be dependent on the complexity of your affairs. Trusts and wills are often written on very flexible terms allowing trustees greater discretion in their management. The increasing complexity of modern trust and tax law as well as the reluctance of many people to become involved in decisions that require not only a professional competence but also an independent detachment from family dynamics means that an independent trust company may be the best choice – especially as the trust company is always there and doesn’t die, retire or take holidays.

Bicester Wills Backs the 100+ networking event on the 18th of May

Well not long now until the highly anticipated joint networking event takes place in Trinity in Bicester.  Lets hope as many people as we hope will turn up.  We even made it into the papers - see the link below for the coverage from the Bicester Review



http://www.bicesteradvertiser.net/news/bicester/9016126.Bicester_businesses_make_connections/

Where there’s a will, there’s a hospice boost

A BICESTER businesswoman is proving that where there’s a will there’s a way to boost the funds of Sobell House Hospice Charity

Gail Church, who runs Bicester Wills and is regional chairman of the Society of Will Writers (SWW), is doing her bit to mark the hospice’s 35^th birthday by donating £35 to the hospice for every will she writes during May and June.

As part of the campaign, Gail is also offering a free guide to will writing and on Friday 20^th May will be on hand at the Sobell Charity shop in

Market Square

, Bicester to talk to people about the importance of having a properly written will.

Gail said: “For 35 years the hospice has helped so many people so this is my small way of giving something back to the hospice. I also hope this will enable me to raise awareness of the importance of people having a will. An alarmingly high number of people are still dying without leaving a will which just adds to the stress and grief of loved ones left behind. Writing a basic will is a reasonably straightforward and relatively inexpensive task if you use a professional will-writer.”

Kath Morris, Head of Fundraising at Sobell House Hospice Charity, said: “We are so reliant on the support of people who help us with our fundraising so I wish Gail every success with her campaign to raise awareness of having a will written and, in the process, generating a much-needed boost to hospice funds.”

If anyone would like a free copy of Gail’s guide to will writing, they can contact her on 0800 9704897.

Members of the Society of Will Writers undergo continued professional development training and carry professional indemnity insurance.