Sadly, such situations can end up in Court.  One such case was Re Northall (deceased) [2010].  In this case Mrs Northall had purchased her council house with the financial assistance of one of her six sons. The property was later sold, and as the deceased did not have a bank account, another son, Christopher, offered to open a joint account with his mother and the sale proceeds of £54,836.00 were deposited in same. Christopher withdrew £28,625 from the account in the 3 weeks, before his mother passed away. On the day after his mother’s death, he transferred the remaining balance into a joint account held with his wife. Christopher claimed the account had been put into joint names so he could assist his elderly mother manage her finances and make withdrawals. He also alleged that his mother had instructed him to withdraw money for his own benefit and that any residue within the account upon her death would belong solely to him.

A number of general legal principles apply:

• Joint accounts are ordinarily subject to the standard rule of survivorship – that is to say, upon the death of the first account holder, ownership of all monies in the account passes to the co-owner absolutely. This is common for married couples and can be very convenient, as a Grant of Probate is not usually required before monies can be transferred. It is not so beneficial in a parent and child situation, particularly if the remaining children see the only asset of their parent pass by default to the one child whose name appears upon the account, to the exclusion of siblings.
• Joint accounts that are deemed to pass by survivorship, pass outside of a will. It would therefore be irrelevant if the deceased did have a will gifting everything between all the children equally. This is why Worthingtons Solicitors will address and review how you legally own and hold your assets, in order to ensure that you can gift them within a will in accordance with your wishes.

Upon the evidence, there was nothing to support Christopher’s allegation that his mother intended the payments withdrawn to be a gift. Indeed, she had intended the monies to remain hers to spend as she so wished. Similarly, there was no evidence to support the son’s allegation that the remaining balance of the account was to pass to him upon death. The son was ordered to return the balance of the account, together with all withdrawals (save those where evidence was available to show the withdrawal was with his mother’s express instruction).

Conclusion:

Incidents such as these are all too common, and fortunately can be avoided with good legal advice. It is possible for account holders to sign a declaration of trust stating that the account is held by them as “tenants in common”, rather than “joint tenants” so that on the death of one of the account holders his or her share (as defined in the declaration of trust) passes under the terms of his or her will or intestacy, rather than to the other account holder.  You should also ensure that your Will is reviewed regularly and that you seek professional, legal advice, if you have any concerns.

If you require any advice about the above, or any other legal matter please do not hesitate to call our Partner, Nikki McConnell on 028 9181 1538.

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Some issues to consider are discussed in more detail below:

Christmas Gifts

You may be lucky enough to receive an extravagant Christmas present this year, such as an item of jewellery, furniture, clothes, a new car or any other high value or sentimental item. In order for such an item to be passed on to your chosen beneficiary in the event of your death, make sure you spend some time, once the excitement has died down, to amend your Will to reflect your wishes.  You may be the one planning to make generous Christmas gifts – remember that such gifts can still be taken into consideration when assessing inheritance tax liability for some years after the event. 

Family Engagements/Changes in Arrangements

Christmas is one of the most popular times for announcing engagements. If you have received an engagement ring that you wish to be passed to your intended spouse or another member of your family in the event of your death or if you would like to include your new fiancé as a beneficiary in your Will, you need to consider formalising your intentions by way of an amended Will.

The Executor of Your Will

If you haven’t reviewed your Will for some time, personal circumstances may have changed in relation to who you would wish to execute your Will. The original executor appointed may have become unwell or sadly passed away, or you may have divorced/separated/recently married, and this may affect your wishes.  You may also wish to include a Solicitor to assist with the administration, especially if your Estate is likely to be complex or time consuming to finalise.

Ensuring your affairs are in order is a gift in itself to your loved ones. For more advice or assistance with drafting or updating your Will, please contact the Wills and Probate Team at Worthingtons Solicitors who have extensive experience on helping a wide range of clients to draw up their Wills and can provide specialist Estate Planning advice. Please call 028 9181 1538 or complete our online enquiry form.

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Our participation in the 2020 campaign means that we have been taking part in the scheme for 13 years, and have raised over £25,000.

Nikki McConnell, Partner, said:

“This is a superb initiative which targets the millions of people in the UK who do not have a will and allows them access to a professional to draw up this important document.

“We are glad we could do our bit to help, particularly as it has been such a difficult time for charities and people across Northern Ireland.

“We sincerely hope the donations we have raised will make a difference and help them to continue the vital work they are doing in the UK and overseas.”

Will Aid has raised more than £21 million in donations, and many millions more in pledged legacies, for charity since it launched.

Peter de Vena Franks, campaign director, said:

“Thanks to the amazing commitment of local solicitors that took part in Will Aid 2020, many people will receive life-changing support, and people who used the scheme have gained peace of mind thanks to having a professionally drawn up will.”

“I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to Worthingtons for their incredible efforts this year and for their ongoing participation in the scheme.”

Will Aid takes place every November and we will be volunteering our time and expertise again this year

Will Aid donations support nine of the UK’s best-loved charities – ActionAid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, Sightsavers, SCIAF (Scotland) and Trocaire (N. Ireland).

The suggested voluntary donation for a basic Will Aid will is £100 for a single will and £180 for a pair of mirror wills.

We will be following the most up-to-date government health advice to ensure that face-to-face meetings remain safe. We are also able to write wills at a distance via telephone or online consultation, where necessary.

Please contact our Wills & Probate Department on 028 9181 1538 or info@worthingtonslaw.co.uk for further information.

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A recent survey revealed 66% of parents in Northern Ireland have not written a will and are being urged to “protect their children with paperwork”.

If you die without appointing a guardian, and there is no other parent with parental responsibility, a court would decide with whom your child will live – and this might not be the person you would assume would take on their care.

Preparing a correctly worded Will with a solicitor is the best way to ensure your wishes are carried out.

We accept that the inevitability of death is a difficult concept to confront. But bad things do happen, and though it’s impossible to prepare for many of them, making plans for your child’s care in the event of your death is a concrete step you can take to help ensure his or her future well-being.

We have been providing Will making services throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing some much-needed comfort and reassurance to our clients.

Our innovative practices mean that you can make a Will without the need of coming into our offices.  Our expert team aim to assist you throughout the process, making it as effortless as possible giving you peace of mind during this very challenging time.  This process equally suits our clients who are too busy to come into the office for a face-to-face meeting.  We are continuously striving to make services more efficient for our clients.  

For further information on making Wills, please contact Huw Worthington in our Wills and Estates department on 028 9181 1538 or by e-mail at huw@worthingtonslaw.co.uk.  Huw has a vast experience in dealing with elderly clients and in particular Will drafting, Wealth Management, Inheritance Tax planning, Enduring Powers of Attorney, Administration of Estates and Controllership Applications. Huw is a long-established member of the Society of Taxation and Estate Practitioners (STEP) which is the benchmark for high quality estate planning advice.

Why not bring peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones and help a worthy cause by making a Will with Worthingtons during November!

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We are delighted to announce that once again we will be teaming up with Will Aid in the hope of raising even more vital funds to help improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable people across the UK and around the world. Worthingtons are offering to draw up basic Wills for clients free of charge and afford clients the opportunity to donate the costs of drafting the Will to Will Aid.

We have been continuing to provide Will making services throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing some much-needed comfort and reassurance to our clients. Having a professionally drafted Will is the best way to ensure your loved ones are provided for after your death. It also avoids the stress of coping with any legal complications for your family. If you draft a Will through the Will Aid Scheme at Worthingtons, you can also be assured that you are donating to an excellent cause too.

Our innovative practices also mean that you can make a Will without the need of coming into our offices.  Our expert team aim to assist you throughout the process, making it as effortless as possible. Our Covid-19 temporary Will making procedure can be found here.

Although our offices are closed, we are regularly having telephone and Zoom video calls with clients to take their initial instructions. We then send clients our Wills Questionnaire to confirm their wishes. When clients send the questionnaire back to us, we draft the Will for the client’s final approval. This simple process gives peace of mind to our clients during this very challenging time. This process equally suits our clients who are too busy to come into the office for a face-to-face meeting. Worthingtons continuously strive to make services more efficient for clients.

Our Wills and Estates department can also provide you with specialist assistance on Wills and Estate Planning, administration of estates, contested Wills, Intestacy, and Inheritance tax advice. For further information on making Wills and related legal matters, contact Huw Worthington by email at huw@worthingtonslaw.co.uk. Huw has vast experience in dealing with elderly clients and in particular Will drafting, Wealth Management, Inheritance Tax planning, Enduring Powers of Attorney, Administration of Estates and Controllership Applications. Huw is a long-established member of the Society of Taxation and Estate Practitioners (STEP) which is the benchmark for high quality estate planning advice.

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We have outlined below the temporary Will making procedure that we have put in place for your comfort and safety.

Taking instructions

Our solicitors are working from home to continue to provide legal services to you, however our offices are closed to members of the public in accordance with government policy.

Therefore, we will take your instructions over the phone. It may be possible to have a virtual ‘face-to-face’ meeting through Facetime or conferencing apps such as Zoom. 

Once we have spoken with you initially, we will email our Wills Questionnaire to you.

Once we have received the completed questionnaire from you, we will draft your Will and email it to you for your approval. If you have any amendments that you would like to make, we are happy to discuss this over the phone or via email before the final execution of your Will.

When you are fully satisfied with the Will, we will email you the final copy for execution.

Taking instructions for clients without access to the internet

If you do not have access to the internet, we can take your Will instructions on a telephone call. Please be aware that if we are taking your instructions in this manner, you must be alone when speaking to us as this is an extremely personal and confidential matter.

We will then draft your Will. If time permits, we can post it out to you for final approval. If time is of the essence, we can schedule an additional call with you to finalise the drafting of your Will over the telephone. Once you are fully satisfied with your Will, we will post it out to you for execution.

Executing the Will

When we send the final Will to you (by email or post) which has been approved by us, the Will can be executed if the following procedures are strictly adhered to:

1. Print out the Will.

• Two witnesses need to be present.

It is vitally important that you do not choose witnesses who are going to benefit in any way under your Will or who are married to or are civil partners of any beneficiary. If you chose beneficiaries or family members to witness your Will, any gift to them as outlined in your Will would be null and void.

The witnesses you choose must therefore be independent.

• You must sign and date the Will in the presence of the two witnesses.

It is essential that the two witnesses see you sign the Will. It is acceptable for the witnesses to view you sign the Will from a distance, or even through a window if it makes everyone more comfortable.  

If you cannot get the two witnesses together at the same time to witness your signature, it is possible that you can sign the Will in the presence of one witness, then acknowledge that the signature is yours to the second witness if necessary.

• The witnesses must each sign the Will in your presence.

As above, you may view the witness’ signatures of your Will from a safe distance.

The Will must be signed by you and the two witnesses in order to be validly executed.

• The Name, Occupation and Address of the witnesses must be written on the Will under the signature of the Witnesses.

• The original Will must be posted to our office in an envelope with no staples or paperclips attached.

Please confirm by email or telephone when you have posted the original Will to our office.

Payment

Costs will be agreed up front and should be paid to our office account, details of which will be provided to you via post or telephone call. We will never provide our bank details to you via email or text.

We will resume normal service as soon as possible. We hope that our temporary Will making procedure will bring some comfort to you and your loved ones during these very difficult times. For further information on making Wills and related legal matters, contact Huw Worthington by email at huw@worthingtonslaw.co.uk

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