Inheritance tax was designed for the wealthy, and in Richmond upon Thames it has become a tax on anyone who bought a house before the prices ran away. A terrace in Barnes, a semi in Teddington or a flat in Kew is enough on its own to carry an estate past the threshold, and will solicitors in the borough spend more of their time on tax planning than on the wills themselves: the spouse exemption and the allowance for a home passed to children, gifts that survive the seven-year rule, trusts for grandchildren, charitable legacies and business reliefs.
The planning has to fit real families. Second marriages are common in Richmond and St Margarets, and a will has to provide for a new spouse without disinheriting children of the first, often with a life interest in the house. Families with property abroad need to know which country's law governs what, and whether a second will is needed there. Unmarried partners, who get nothing under the intestacy rules, need a will and a declaration of trust on the house. An older population in Hampton, Teddington and Twickenham makes lasting powers of attorney, for finances and for health and welfare, as important as the will; they can only be made while the person still has capacity.
Probate for a Richmond estate usually means a valuable house, investments and an inheritance tax return that has to be right, because HMRC looks closely at estates of this size. The same firms take it from valuation to final distribution.
Wills and powers of attorney are usually fixed-fee; probate is charged at a fixed fee, by the hour or as a percentage, so ask which.
Will and probate solicitors near Richmond upon Thames are listed below, verified firms first. The articles on wills, trusts and probate, what a will costs, what probate costs and lasting powers of attorney give the background; the will solicitors page explains what the service includes.
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