Your Questions Answered
About our friendly
and secure service
Q1 Why Should I use Welcare Guardian?
* Welcare Guardian are the UK’s largest distributor s of home-visit solicitor-provided Wills
* We guarantee the lowest price for a home-visit Will which is checked and provided direct to you by a panel firm of solicitors who can also provide legal advice and storage of your signed Will.
* We charge a low fixed price, however complex your Will, wherever you live, with no hidden extras and with a discount for your partner.
* You don’t need to leave your fireside - our service could not be simpler! Your Will instructions can be taken in the convenience of your own home by our local counsellor at a time and day which is convenient to you.
* An extra copy of your Will is provided for your records together with a data-stored copy for your added convenience.
* The process of making your Will is made extremely simple. There are no visits to the solicitor; our trained counsellor comes to your home to take your Will instructions at a time convenient to you - whether daytime, evenings or weekends.
* Everyone’s Will needs regular updating and Welcare Guardian will provide a replacement Will at a cost of just £10 (plus vat) whenever required.
* Welcare Guardian have been proud to offer an outstanding ethical service, providing great savings to clients, for over 14 years. So why not take this opportunity to apply for a free consultation today by completing the 'Free Consultation' form on this website?
Q2 Can my Will reduce the burden of Inheritance Tax?
The cornerstone of all Inheritance Tax planning is a properly drawn Will. For example, making full use of the zero-rate band can reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax paid proportionately by £120,000 at current rates.
This is achieved by placing a sum not exceeding the zero-rate band into a Discretionary Will Trust. However, care must be taken to ensure that a surviving spouse is not disadvantaged. This is regarded as one of the simplest yet most effective means of saving Inheritance Tax. Welcare's fee for including a zero-rated Discretionary Trust in your Will is very good value and is currently £180 plus vat for a couple's Wills.
Q3 Is there any extra charge for a Discretionary Trust?
Welcare's fee for including a Discretionary Trust in your Will is very good value and is currently £180 plus vat for a couple's Wills.
Q4 Are there any extra charges for other Trusts such as those required for a disabled child?
You may wish to make financial provision in your Will for a child or other beneficiary who cannot lead an independent life because of disability by setting up a Disabled Discretionary Trust in your Will.
You may be concerned that if you need nursing home care in the future, your local authority may have the right to sell your home and use the proceeds to meet your care costs. You can includes a Protective Property Trust in your Will, so that your half share of the property is put in trust for your children. Your half share is protected and your surviving spouse may continue to live in the property.
Welcare's fee for a Disabled Discretionary Trust or a Protective Property Trust in your Will is very good value and is currently £180 plus vat for a couple's Wills.
Q5 What should I do to appoint Guardians for my children?
It is very important that legal guardians should be appointed until your children reach eighteen. Welcare will incorporate their appointment into your Will at no extra charge.
Q6 What do you mean by ‘guaranteed lowest price’?
We guarantee to refund the difference in the unlikely event that you find a lower price for an equivalent service. The ‘Why make a Will’ section of this website provides more details.
Q7 Are there any hidden extra charges?
No. We charge a low fixed price, however complex your Will, wherever you live, with no hidden extras and with a discount for your partner or spouse.
Q8 What does Welcare’s service include?
Our service includes a free home-visit consultation plus legal advice and Will storage from the panel solicitors who provide your Will. The ‘Why make a Will’ section of this website provides more details.
Q9 What will it cost if I subsequently change my Will or need a new Will?
Wills should be regularly reviewed and often need amending. As a client of Welcare Guardian you will be charged just £10 plus vat for a new or replacement Will whenever you require one.
Q10 How easy is it to make my Will?
You don’t need to leave your fireside! The process is made extremely simple. There are no visits to the solicitor; your Will instructions can be taken in the convenience of your own home by a trained counsellor at a time convenient to you - daytime, evenings or weekends. There are no extra charges for out-of-hours visits.
Q11 Who will provide my Will?
Your Will is checked and provided directly to you by one of our panel firms of solicitors.
Q12 Where should I store my signed (attested) Will?
We recommend that you store your signed Will with the panel solicitors for safe-keeping. They will provide you with an unsigned copy Will to keep at home for your records. A copy of your Will is also stored on a computer data-base for your added convenience and peace of mind.
Q13 How do I apply for a free Consultation?
1. Simply click Free Consultation on the Menu on the left
2. Complete the request form
3. Click the Submit button
One of our secretaries will then contact you by telephone to arrange a convenient time for your free consultation. This can be daytime or evening or weekend, whichever is most convenient for you. Allow about 45 minutes for our visit.
Q14 Some basic legal definitions.
SOME TERMS USED IN WILLS AND PROBATE MATTERS:
Administering A Will
Distributing the assets of an Estate according to the terms of a Will.
Administrator
A personal representative who is not appointed under the terms of a Will.
Attesting A Will
The formal procedure of witnessing a Will which requires that the Will be signed in the presence of two witnesses who then affirm that they have witnessed the signature.
Beneficiary
A person or organisation benefiting from a Will.
Bequest
A specific item or asset received by a beneficiary of a Will. A gift of property may also be known as a specific devise. The term bequest may sometimes be loosely used to include gifts of money.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
The tax levied on any capital gain on any assets that are sold or otherwise transferred. No Capital Gains Tax is levied on assets transferred upon death.
Child
In Will or intestacy issues, a child of the person who has died includes adopted and illegitimate children, but not stepchildren (unless they are specifically mentioned).
Codicil
A separate legal document altering or supplementing the provisions of an existing Will.
Common-law spouse
This term has no legal force, although a partner who lived with the person who died may be able to claim a share of the estate.
Conditional Legacy
A legacy which is conditional on an event.
Deceased
A Testator after she or he has died.
Estate
The assets of the deceased.
Executor/Executrix
A personal representative appointed under the terms of a Will.
Gross Estate
The value of all assets comprised in the Estate.
Inheritance Tax
Replacing Capital Transfer Tax as from the date of the Royal Assent of the 1986 Finance Act, it is a tax on the transfer of assets on death. It also affects lifetime gifts when the donor dies within a seven year period of the gift being made; it is then calculated on a reducing scale.
Intestacy
Dying without making a valid Will. A person is then said to die intestate.
Legacy
A sum of money received by a beneficiary of a Will.
Legatee
A beneficiary.
Letters of Administration
The grant of the right to administer the Estate of person dying intestate. The document issued to the administrators by the Probate Registry to authorise them to deal with the estate.
Net Estate
The Gross value of the Estate less any debts owing by the deceased at the time of death and less any funeral expenses. Note that any Inheritance Tax that is payable is not deducted in calculating the net value of the Estate for tax purposes but for distributive purposes only.
Pecuniary Legacy
A specific sum of money bequeathed in a Will.
Personal Representative
A person appointed by the Registrar to administer an Estate, e.g. upon intestacy.
Probate
The grant of the right to administer a Will to the Executors of the Will. (Also known as grant of probate).
Probate Registry
A court within the Family Division of the High Court which deals with Probate matters. The Principal Registry is in London and there are district registries in other cities and some large towns.
Proving a Will
The procedure for obtaining the right to administer a Will. The personal representatives have to obtain an official document from the High Court to show that they have the legal authority to deal with the assets of the Estate. The procedure for obtaining this authority is known as Proving the Will.
Residual Legacy
A legacy consisting of the residue of an Estate, or share of it.
Reversionary Legacy
A legacy in which the Testator bequeaths the income from the Estate to one or more people on whose death the Estate will pass to another, or others.
Testator/Testatrix
A person making a Will.
Will
A legal document detailing how a person’s Estate should be disposed of after death. A new Will will normally replace any existing Will.