Get a helping hand to sort out financial and legal issues 

Disputes about wills, trusts and estates have grown in recent years due to increasingly complex family structures and people generally being more aware of their legal rights and how to exercise them.

The best way to stop your estate being the subject of a legal dispute after you’ve passed away is to have an up-to-date will in place. You might have a will already but it’s important to review any existing document after major life changes such as separation or divorce, remarrying, or being blessed with (more) grandchildren.

Trusts often offer a tax-efficient option for your estate and passing wealth to your descendants. They have other uses, too, such as supporting someone who can’t manage their money or making sure that your own money is used to fund any care you need in later life.

You may also want to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), which you can do at any age. An LPA is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions for you, or act on your behalf, if you’re no longer able to or want to.

The Court of Protection is a court that deals with decisions or actions taken under the Mental Capacity Act. It deals with the affairs of the most vulnerable in our society, regarding decisions in two areas: property and financial affairs; and health and welfare.

The court can appoint a deputy to step in and make decisions where a person lacks capacity to make decisions for themselves. Rothley Law can help with the appointment of a suitable deputy – or act as a “professional deputy”.

Rothley Law has a specialised team that are experts in property and financial affairs, covering issues like adapting a property to fit bespoke needs, arranging payment for care fees and dealing with personal injury compensation. The team regularly deals with dementia and other age-related health issues, and you can be sure your situation will be handled sensitively and professionally.

The past few years have seen an increase in the number of cases of pension or investment mis-selling.

You may have been mis-sold a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) if you didn’t have sufficient investment experience or the returns from the SIPP were exaggerated. Investments may have been mis-sold if the adviser didn’t sell you an investment product that suited your needs or attitude to risk. For example, some people have been mis-sold carbon credits and overseas property.

If you think you’ve been mis-sold an investment opportunity, Rothley Law can help you raise a dispute and seek compensation.

Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) can be a substantial cost when you buy a property.  Although evading stamp duty (or any other tax due) is illegal, there may be circumstances where you overpaid SDLT or qualified for an exemption in retrospect. This means you may be eligible for a stamp duty refund.

For example, you may have purchased a rundown cottage without basic amenities such as heating or water – this would make it uninhabitable, which would mean you qualify for a stamp duty exemption.

Alternatively, if you downsized to your dream retirement home by the sea while you still owned your family home, you’d have paid a 3% stamp duty surcharge. But this doesn’t apply if the seaside property became your main home within three years, and you sold your family home. In this scenario you’d be able to claim the surcharge back from HMRC.

Solicitors at Rothley Law can help with a raft of legal complexities that many of us face as we age, and also those we encounter when our loved ones develop dementia or other health conditions or pass away. Our caring team of experts can support you through some of life’s toughest times and help you make informed decisions about your own, and your family’s, finances.

Visit www.rothleylaw.com or call 0330 016 9200 for more information on all legal aspects of your personal financial affairs.