Nobody likes to think about 'what could happen', but when it comes to your estate you need to be prepared for every eventuality. What would happen if you were to be in the unfortunate circumstance of losing capacity in a catastrophic injury or from a devastating illness? What if you had a stroke and nobody could access your bank account? How would the bills be paid? Who would deal with the mortgage?
From a financial perspective, you may be insured – critical illness, sickness payments or even statutory sickness benefits might just keep the ship afloat - but what about practical access? Who will sign the cheques or set up direct debits? Thinking about these matters and having a power of attorney in place could be the difference between maintaining your standard of living after a difficult and life-changing event or struggling to prevent a catastrophic and devastating event. Careful planning allows your family to concentrate on caring for you and being with you, rather than spending time facing the stress of difficult personal and financial commitments.
What about insurance payments? Making sure that they are written in trust, where appropriate, so that they don't pay to your estate in the event of your death could be vital. Avoiding paying an unnecessary 40% in tax could make a huge difference for your beneficiaries, and who wouldn't want to leave 40% more in the way of provision for their family without any personal cost to them? Getting your insurance paperwork in order can be a pain-free way to maximise the benefits for your family.
Reviewing your will and making sure it's up-to-date with how you want your estate to be dealt with is essential and will provide you with peace of mind. Effective tax planning can also mean you leave more funds for those you care about; using your inheritance tax exemptions should be second nature for all of us, but often it's not.
We have been working with care homes to update their contracts and advise on the risks of charging the resident a regular “top-up” or additional fee where a resident is funded through NHS CHC
The parliamentary processes are complete and the Restriction of Public Exit Payments Regulations 2020 (“the Regulations”) which cap exit payments in the public sector at £95,000 will be in force from 4 November.
As the UK’s social housing sector recovers from the initial Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown, now is the time to focus on the challenges that may emerge next.
There is no universal approach to regenerating town centres. However, housing must be considered a key part of any regeneration project – providing well-needed new homes and economic growth.
Friday 16 October marks the 6th annual Wear Red Day in England, Wales and Scotland. Wear Red Day is the brainchild of the charity; Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC). SRTRC aims to educate young people so they are equipped to recognise and challenge stereotypes, misconceptions and negative attitudes towards race.
Alongside the Building Safety Bill published in July 2020, the Fire Safety Bill is a key step in the Government’s strategy to improve building and fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy
Government regulations came into force on 23 September 2020 providing LGPS (local government pension scheme) employers with flexibility on meeting exit payments and LGPS funds with flexibility too
Charity Financials, the financial information program from Wilmington Charities, has published its latest Income Monitor report.
As employers face the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on 31 October 2020, Katherine Sinclair and Libby Hubbard discuss the intricacies of the redundancy process for furloughed employees.
We have learned many things over the last six months; the latest lesson is that there is no new normal. The Government initiatives and guidance may have slowed down a pace, but the challenges for employers and their employees remain.
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