A three-bedroom house in Romsey Town or Newnham is now enough on its own to take an estate past the point where inheritance tax starts, and that single fact drives most of the wills work in Cambridge. People who never thought of themselves as wealthy need a will that uses both spouses' allowances and does not leave the children with a tax bill payable only by selling the family home.
Cambridge adds less usual questions. Academics and scientists often hold assets, pensions and heirs in more than one country, and a will drawn for England alone may not deal with a flat in Lyon or a retirement account in Boston. Founders hold shares that may qualify for business property relief, and the terms of a shareholders' agreement can override what a will says about them. Legacies to a college or a charity are common and need careful wording. Unmarried couples inherit nothing from each other under the intestacy rules unless a will says otherwise.
Lasting powers of attorney, for finances and for health, are the other half of the work, and Cambridge solicitors prepare them for clients in their thirties as readily as their eighties. Without them, a family facing dementia or a sudden accident must apply to the Court of Protection.
After a death the same firms handle probate: valuing the estate, agreeing tax with HMRC, obtaining the grant and distributing to beneficiaries. Executors are personally liable for mistakes, and an estate with shares, overseas assets or a trust is rarely a do-it-yourself job.
Most Cambridge firms quote a fixed price for a will or a pair of mirror wills and for each power of attorney; probate is charged in several ways, so ask which applies.
The firms below write wills and administer estates in Cambridge, verified firms first. Read wills, trusts and probate explained, what a will costs, what probate costs and what a lasting power of attorney is, or the general guide to will solicitors.
