Wills, Trusts & Estates.

This is one of the most commonly asked questions about trusts — and one of the most important to answer honestly. Transferring assets into a trust with the intention of reducing care home fee liability is considered deliberate deprivation of assets by local authorities. If a local authority believes assets were transferred into a trust specifically to avoid care fees, it can treat those assets as still belonging to you for means-testing purposes — as if the trust does not exist. There is no time limit on how far back a local authority can look. Some trusts are legitimately used for other purposes and may have incidental effects on care fee assessments, but any arrangement marketed primarily as a care fee avoidance scheme should be approached with serious caution and independent legal advice sought before proceeding.

Time limits depend on the type of claim. There is no strict limitation period for challenging the validity of a will itself — a probate claim can technically be brought at any time, though delay significantly weakens a case and the court has discretion to refuse late claims. Inheritance Act claims — where you are not disputing the will's validity but arguing it fails to make reasonable provision for you — must be brought within six months of the grant of probate. This is a hard deadline and extensions are rarely granted. Proprietary estoppel claims — where you were promised an inheritance and acted on that promise — are subject to the general limitation periods, but again delay weakens the claim. Taking advice promptly after a death where a dispute is likely is strongly recommended.

Registration with the Office of the Public Guardian currently takes up to 20 weeks from the date of application, though timescales vary. The OPG has been working to reduce waiting times, including through a new online registration system. There is a mandatory four-week waiting period built into the process during which objections can be raised. An LPA cannot be used until registration is complete — which means an LPA made in response to an immediate health crisis is unlikely to be ready in time. Making LPAs while in good health, long before they are needed, is the only reliable way to ensure they are available when required.

A straightforward probate typically takes six to twelve months from the date of death to final distribution. The main stages — valuing the estate, submitting the inheritance tax account, applying for the grant, collecting assets, paying debts, and distributing to beneficiaries — each take time, and some cannot begin until earlier ones are complete. HMRC currently takes around 20 weeks to process inheritance tax returns before a grant application can proceed. Contested estates, those with complex assets, overseas property, or business interests can take considerably longer — sometimes several years if a dispute reaches court.

We charge a fixed fee for wills, so you know the full cost before we start. We offer fixed fees for both single wills and mirror wills for couples — contact us for current pricing. The cost of making a will is modest compared to the cost of not having one: an estate passing under the intestacy rules, or a disputed will, can generate legal costs many times greater than the original document would have.

A will can be challenged on several legal grounds. Lack of testamentary capacity — the deceased did not understand what they were signing at the time the will was made. Undue influence — the deceased was pressured or coerced into making the will or including particular provisions. Fraud or forgery — the will or a signature was fabricated. Lack of knowledge and approval — the deceased signed a document without understanding or approving its contents. Improper execution — the will was not signed and witnessed in accordance with the Wills Act 1837. A separate but related claim is under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, where the will fails to make reasonable financial provision for an eligible person. Each ground has different evidential requirements and time limits.

Dying without a will means the intestacy rules decide who inherits your estate — and the result may be nothing like what you would have chosen. Under intestacy, your estate passes to blood relatives in a fixed legal order: spouse or civil partner first, then children, then more distant relatives. Unmarried partners inherit nothing, regardless of how long they have been together. Close friends, step-children, and carers are also excluded entirely. If you have no traceable relatives, your estate passes to the Crown. The intestacy rules take no account of your relationships, your wishes, or your circumstances — only your legal status at the time of death.

A deputy is a person appointed by the Court of Protection to make ongoing decisions on behalf of someone who lacks mental capacity and has no lasting power of attorney in place. Deputies are most commonly appointed to manage property and financial affairs — paying bills, managing bank accounts, dealing with property, and handling investments. Personal welfare deputies, who make decisions about care and medical treatment, are appointed much less frequently because the court prefers to make one-off decisions on welfare matters rather than grant ongoing authority. A deputyship is typically sought by a family member when a relative has lost capacity — through dementia, a stroke, or a serious accident — and there is no LPA that could be used instead.