In Dying Matters week, Nicola Plant wrote for Spears Magazine and produced a test to see how tidy you are, or whether you might need further advice on your Will, trusts or tax planning.
Dying Tidily Test
How will you be remembered?
[Score 1 point for each Yes]
Your Will
Have you got a Will, do you know where it is
and what it says?
Have you reviewed it in the last 5 years?
Are your executors still alive and suitable?
Are your guardians for minor children still relevant, are they still alive and suitable?
Do you talk to your family and will they understand why you have done what you have done?
Mental Capacity
Do you have an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) or a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?
Do you know where it is?
Are your attorneys still alive, able, and suitable?
Inheritance Tax
Have you done what you can and want to do to avoid inheritance tax?
Are you keeping records of lifetime gifts?
Have you considered how any inheritance tax will be paid on your death?
Life Assurance
If you have life assurance have you within the last 5 years thought about how much you have and actually need?
Are the policies written in trust so they won’t be taxable?
Do you know where the policies and any trust deeds are?
Your Business
Is it clear who will run the business after your death?
Will your intended beneficiaries be allowed to hold shares and do you want them to?
If not, can the business or your business partners afford to buy back the shares from your estate?
Do your business partners know your plans and have your executors and
fellow shareholders been informed?
Your Assets
Do you have good records of all that you own and all that you owe?
Do you know where any title deeds and certificates are?
Have you closed dormant bank accounts (especially those overseas)?
Do you own any foreign property and have you dealt with it in your Will?
Does someone know where to find passwords for your PC, online bank accounts and trading accounts?
Secrets
Are you confident that you have made financial provision for all those
whom you have been looking after financially?
Are you confident HMRC will not raise any enquires about your tax affairs after your death?
Your Score
013
What a mess! Do you really want to be remembered like this? Dying tidily matters. Get help now!
1320
Let’s be honest, there is probably more to sort out than you think. Dying tidily matters. It’s definitely worth you taking some advice.
2025
Well done. It sounds like your estate planning is pretty tidy. Please do this questionnaire again in 3 years time.
First published in Spears Magazine on 13 May 2016
