Johnson Astills Solicitors Banner Image

Our Services

Wills and Probate Solicitors

Making a Will is essential for taking control of how your property and money is dealt with and distributed after your death.

At  Johnson Astills, we specialise in providing a bespoke Will writing service to help individuals plan for the future and reassure them that their loved ones will be provided for adequately after they die.

We can also guide you through the Probate and Estate Administration process regardless of whether or not the deceased made a Will. Dealing with such matters after a death can be a difficult task, especially if you have not had experience in doing so or the estate is particularly complicated.

Our expertise covers every aspect of Wills and Probate. So whether you want to make a Will, you are an Executor or Administrator seeking help with administering an estate, or you are the Trustee of a trust, we can provide clear, practical, tailored advice about your options as well as drafting legal documentation and handling every aspect of the process on your behalf.

To discuss your specific needs with our Wills and Probate Solicitors, just give us a call at our office in Leicester or Loughborough. Alternatively, feel free to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.

How our Wills and Probate Solicitors can help you

Our Wills and Probate Solicitors have wide-ranging expertise across all succession and estate planning matters, including:

  • Will drafting
  • Estate planning and Inheritance Tax planning
  • Grants of Representation  (Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration)
  • Estate administration
  • Creating and managing trusts
  • Trustee powers and duties
  • Lasting Powers of Attorney
  • Applications for Deputyship​

We understand that planning for the future can be daunting. Our goal is to make your experience as simple and straightforward as possible. We ensure our advice is always precise and understandable so you can make fully informed decisions about the best way to proceed.

Will Drafting

Many people put off making a Will for a variety of reasons, for example because they don’t like thinking about dying, or they assume they don’t need to make one.

However, if you die without making a Will, your money and property will be distributed according to the rules of intestacy, which may not be in accordance with your wishes and may leave those important to you unprovided for.

Therefore, the sooner you make a Will, the sooner you will have peace of mind, knowing your loved ones will be provided for after you die.

Our highly skilled Wills Solicitors have extensive experience helping Clients draft and change Wills from the most straightforward to complex documents involving aspects such as trusts and international assets.

Estate Administration

When a person dies, someone – usually relatives or close friends – has to deal with the estate (money and assets) left behind. This person is called an Executor if the deceased appointed them under a Will or an Administrator if they did not.

The Executor or Administrator does not automatically obtain permission to administer a deceased person’s estate. They must first apply to the Probate Registry for a Grant of Representation (referred to as a Grant of Probate if the deceased left a Will or Letters of Representation if not).  

Once authorised, the Executors or Administrators have a number of duties, including valuing the estate, paying debts, selling the deceased’s properties, paying Inheritance Tax, and distributing inheritance to the Beneficiaries.

Whether you have been named as an Executor in a loved one’s Will or you want to become an Administrator, our reliable Wills and Probate Solicitors can handle every aspect of the Probate process on your behalf, including applying for a Grant of Representation, helping you value the estate, calculating Inheritance Tax, tracking down beneficiaries, and ensuring the estate is distributed according to the Will.

Trusts

Trusts are legal documents through which you transfer money or property to one or more trustees to hold and manage on behalf of chosen beneficiaries.

Trusts are commonly used to reduce liability for Inheritance Tax after death and can also be used to preserve and protect assets, for example:

  • To provide for beneficiaries who are under 18
  • To provide for someone with a mental health condition or learning difficulty
  • To ensure money is used for specific purposes, such as to pay for your care
  • To prevent Beneficiaries spending their inheritance all at once

Trusts Law is a complicated area; however, our specialist Trusts Solicitors can talk you through your options clearly so you can make an informed decision about what kind of trust is right for you and how best to structure it as well as drafting and executing the document.

Inheritance Tax planning

If Inheritance Tax is due on your estate it will be payable at a rate of 40% on all relevant assets.

As well as practical advice on trusts, our Estate Planning Solicitors can provide you with comprehensive Inheritance Tax planning advice, including:

  • Inheritance Tax exemptions such as leaving the entirety of your estate to your spouse or civil partner
  • Inheritance Tax reliefs such as Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
  • Making lifetime gifts or leaving gifts to charity
  • Equity transfer to gift your property or a share of your property to a family member during your lifetime

Powers of Attorney, Advance Decisions, and Court of Protection

As well as helping you decide what should happen to your money and property after you die, we can help you make arrangements in case you lose the ability (perhaps due to brain injury or illness such as dementia) to make your own decisions about your finances and personal welfare while you are still alive.

Our expertise includes:

  • Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) – to authorise people you trust (Attorneys) to make decisions about your finances and welfare if you lose mental capacity.
  • Advance Decisions – a legal document which sets out your wishes to refuse medical treatment in case you cannot communicate them when needed in the future (including lifesaving medical treatment)

If you know someone who has lost mental capacity and you want to make decisions on their behalf but they do not have an LPA or Advance Decision, we can also help you apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as deputy to make those decision with the authority of the court and the supervision of the Office of the Public Guardian.

Our Court of Protection expertise includes:

  • Deputyship applications
  • Statutory Wills

Why choose Johnson Astills Wills and Probate Solicitors?

At Johnson Astills we offer a first class service from our approachable Solicitors who all strive to make legal processes as straightforward for you as possible.

We know it’s difficult to think about dying or losing mental capacity. However, we can never emphasise enough the importance of planning early and thoroughly to ensure your loved ones are able to manage your affairs if you cannot and that they are provided for in the event of your death.

If, on the other hand, you are dealing with the loss of a loved one and are responsible for administering their estate we understand how difficult this may be for you and will do our utmost to deal with all issues sensitively, thoroughly and professionally.

As a firm we are Lexcel accredited which means that we have the Law Society practice quality mark which signifies our dedication to excellent client care and legal practice management.

Jane Hinds is a member of Lifetime Lawyers, and has a particular understanding of the legal issues facing elderly clients and expertise helping older and sometimes vulnerable people access reliable legal services.

Johnson Astills is independently regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Make contact with our Wills and Probate Solicitors today

To discuss your specific needs with our Wills and Probate Solicitors, just give us a call at our office in Leicester or our office in Loughborough. Alternatively, feel free to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.