Legacy Donation

Former Chancellor Roy Jenkins famously described Inheritance Tax as: “A voluntary levy paid by those who distrust their heirs more than they dislike the Inland Revenue.”

Estate planning can reduce or even eliminate a family’s liability.  Harvey Howell Solicitors provide FREE legal consultations for Police and a review today could save you thousands.

With care costs often exceeding £1,000 per week, estates can quickly be depleted – sometimes forcing the sale of the family home. Many assume their property will automatically pass to their children, but that isn’t guaranteed. 

Without the right Will in place, if a surviving spouse later needs care, the full value of the home could be used to fund it – leaving nothing for their children. 

Don’t rely on assumptions: 

• The council won’t automatically pay. 

• Your home isn’t automatically protected. 

• Your children aren’t guaranteed to inherit. 

The right Will can help protect your home, secure your spouse’s future and ensure your children ultimately inherit. 

We’re proud to support Police Care UK in promoting the importance of legacy giving. With 42% of its income coming from gifts in Wills, legacy support helps fund vital services for those who live with the impact of trauma experienced in policing. 

To learn more about leaving Police Care UK Gift in your Will or accessing Harvey Howell Solicitors’ FREE consultation service for the police family, visit > Harvey Howell 

Loss of capacity can happen suddenly — through illness, accident, stroke or dementia — not just old age. Once capacity is lost, many options disappear completely. 

 Families are often unable to access bank accounts, pay bills, deal with your home or make other urgent decisions: 

• Decisions about care, treatment or where you live can be taken out of the family’s hands and made instead by social workers. 

• Court involvement can become unavoidable, and is often expensive, slow and stressful. 

These problems are usually preventable if addressed in time by Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) – but you must act whilst you still have the capacity to make decisions for yourself. 

There are two types of LPA: 

1. Property and Financial Affairs – allowing your attorneys to deal with matters such as bank accounts, bills, pensions and property. 

1. Health and Welfare – covering medical treatment and care decisions, including where you live and how you are cared for. 

Here is a real life example of how catastrophic things can be if you don’t plan ahead: 

We acted for the family of a widower who had a severe stroke – whilst in hospital the pipes burst in his house – causing £80k worth of damage. He had insurance BUT insurers would not speak to the family (they were not the policyholder). 

They had to make an application to the Court to get the power to make the claim which took months. When they eventually made the claim, the insurers refused to pay out because the house was unoccupied for so long before the claim. The house developed spores from the flooding and was demolished – uninsured. To add insult to injury, social services put the dad into a care home – against the wishes of his family. 

These problems could have been avoided if the children had LPAs in place – they would decide. 

Act now, before it’s too late! 

Writing a Will is one of the most meaningful ways to care for the people you love. It brings clarity at a difficult time – and for many supporters, it’s also a chance to leave a legacy that reflects what they stood for. A gift in your Will helps ensure that when someone in the police community is harmed through their work, they have somewhere safe to turn for specialist therapy and support. It’s a lasting act of care for the people who step forward when others step back.

Most people assume that once they have made a Will, their children will eventually inherit their estate. Unfortunately, life is rarely that straightforward.

A common arrangement is for everything to pass to the surviving spouse when someone dies. Whilst this seems sensible, it can leave the family’s wealth vulnerable to events that occur many years later. For example, the surviving spouse may:

• need long-term care, with fees often exceeding £1,000 per week,
• meet a new partner,
• remarry,
• change their Will,
• lose capacity and become unable to manage their affairs.

Many people are surprised to learn a new partner can acquire legal rights.

If the surviving spouse later lives with somebody else, that person is able to bring a claim against the estate when the survivor dies. The legal costs of these claims can be huge and the consequences can be catastrophic if the surviving spouse remarries.

The result? Assets that parents intended for their children can end up passing elsewhere.

The good news is a properly drafted Will can often protect a surviving spouse, while also preserving assets for the next generation.

The right planning can provide security for your spouse whilst giving your children the best possible chance of receiving the inheritance you intended for them.

For advice, members of the police family can access a free Will consultation through our partner Harvey Howell Solicitors.

Having an up-to-date Will can help provide clarity and peace of mind for those you care about most.

One important decision is naming guardians for children under 18. Without this in place, decisions about their care may be left to the courts if both parents were to die unexpectedly.

If you have children, grandchildren, or loved ones with young families, encourage them to consider putting a professionally prepared Will in place. It can help make their wishes clear and provide reassurance for the future.

Members of the police family can arrange a FREE consultation with Harvey Howell Solicitors. Visit www.harveyhowell.co.uk.