Who inherits a Tyneside flat when its owner dies without a will? A partner who was never married or in a civil partnership gets nothing, however many years they shared it; the flat passes under the intestacy rules to children, parents or siblings, and the survivor may have to buy it back or leave. Will solicitors in Newcastle see this often, because the city is full of unmarried couples and of homes bought cheaply decades ago.
A will settles it in an afternoon. The same appointment usually covers guardians for children, gifts to grandchildren and what happens if the main beneficiary dies first. For families in Gosforth, Jesmond and out at Darras Hall whose house and savings take the estate over the inheritance tax threshold, the solicitor will also look at lifetime gifts and trusts, and for owners of a family business or farmland in Northumberland at the reliefs that keep it in the family.
Lasting powers of attorney matter as much as wills, and the city's two big hospitals are where many families learn this. Once capacity is lost it is too late to make one, and the alternative is a slow application to the Court of Protection. Make both kinds while you can.
After a death the same firms handle probate: the inheritance tax account, the grant, the sale of the house and the distribution. An estate with a criss-cross lease, a share in a business or property abroad is worth professional help, because the executors carry the personal risk if it goes wrong.
Wills and lasting powers of attorney are nearly always fixed-fee in Newcastle; probate may be fixed, hourly or a percentage of the estate, so ask which.
Newcastle's wills and probate solicitors are listed below, verified firms shown first. See how much a will costs, wills, trusts and probate explained and what a lasting power of attorney is, or the general guide to will solicitors; executors should read what probate costs first.
