Filling in detail- Wills Questions Flashcards
(18 cards)
Client details qs
- Could I take some details from you please?
- Could I take your full name?
- Could you please confirm your email address for me?
- Could you please confirm your date of birth?
- Could you please confirm your address
- Could you please confirm your phone number
- Could I begin by asking you to tell me a bit more about yourself and what you do for a living?
Wills Initial Qs to ask
- Was this [the deceased’s/ insert family member’s] last will?
- Can I check the deceased’s full name was [x] and they lived at [insert address]
- What was the date of birth of the deceased.
- What was the date of death of the deceased.
- What was the occupation of the deceased.
- Was the deceased married at the time of his death.
- Do you know of anyone who may wish to challenge the will.
Common family qs (relationships with parents and siblings)
Family
- Could I begin by asking you to tell me a bit more about your family structure including your relationship with your mother/father and siblings?
- Was your mother/father married? + Can you tell me anything about your father?
- Could you tell me a bit more about your siblings?
- Can I ask if your sibling (deceased) had any children?
- Can you tell me a bit more about your niece/nephew and their age?
- Who is the primary carer for your niece/nephew
- Was your deceased sibling married at the time of their death?
- What is your relationship like with your sibling/s?
- What was your parent/s relationship like with your sibling/s?
- Did the deceased have any other living relatives?
- Do you know of anyone who may wish to challenge the will?
General Personal Qs
+
Common family qs (relationship with children, spouse/civil partner, former spouse/civil partner)
General Personal Qs
Could I begin by asking you to tell me a bit more about yourself and what you do for a living?
Common family qs
Could you tell me a bit more about your family structure?
* Are you married?
* Do you have any children?
* How old are your children?
* Could you tell me a bit more about your relationships with your family, specifically your partner and children?
* Do you have a relationship with any ex-partners?
* Do you have any children from previous relationships?
Common qs regarding assets (estate of deceased parent)
Are you able to provide me with details of any property your mother owned? (Realty)
What was the address your mother lived at?
Are you able to provide me with details of any other assets in the estate?
* Personal assets such as bank accounts?
* Are these bank accounts in your mother’s sole name.
Are you able to provide me with details of personal property assets within the estate?
* This can includes things physical things such as jewellery, cars, antiques etc.
Did your mother have any debts?
Are you able to provide an estimate on the value of the estate?
Do you know if your mother made any gifts of substantial sums of money (£3000 or more) to trusts or companies in the 7 years before her death?
Do you know if your mother made gifts of substantial sums of money (over £3000) to individuals in the 7 years before her death?
Could you provide details of how your mother owned the property, for example one way of owning property jointly means the property passed automatically to your mother’s spouse when she passed. Is this the case?
Common qs regarding assets
(personal estate)
Property/Realty
- Are you able to provide me with details of any property you own? (Realty)
- How do you own these properties, for example one way of owning property jointly means the property will automatically pass to your spouse if you if they survive you. Is this the case?
- Do you have the addresses of these properties?
- Are these properties subject to a mortgage
- What was the original purchase price of the property?
Bank Accounts
- Are you able to provide me with details of any other assets you own?
- For example personal assets such as bank accounts?
- Are these bank accounts in your sole name, or are these joint bank accounts with your spouse?
Personal property
- Are you able to provide me with details of valuable personal property assets that you own?
- This includes physical things such as jewellery, cars, antiques etc.
Shares
* Do you own shares in any companies?
* Are these publicly owned companies or private companies?
Pension benefits/life insurance policies paid to the estate
- Are you aware of any pension benefits or life insurance policies that will be paid to your estate?
Owned Business
- With regards to your business, how is it structured?
- How many shareholders are there in the business and what is their percentage shareholding?
- Who are the directors in the business and roughly how many directors are there?
- Do you know the value of the shares in the business?
- Is this business a private company (Ltd) or a public limited company (PLC)
Value of the estate
- Are you able to provide an estimate on the value of the estate
Debts
- Do you have any outstanding debts.
- Where would you like these debts to be paid from, the residuary estate or is there a specific fund?
Common qs to ask client who is looking to distribute their property to beneficiaires via a will?
Pecuniary Gifts
- Would you like to make any pecuniary (money) gifts, and who would you like to benefit from said gifts?
- Is there a specific fund/bank account you’d like this gift to be paid from or are you happy for this monetary gift to be paid from the general estate?
Specific Gifts
- Would you like to make any gifts of specific items (specific gifts), and who would you like to benefit from said gifts?
Residuary Gifts
With regards to your residuary estate:
- Who would you like to inherit your estate?
- Who would you like to inherit your residuary estate should the intended beneficiary pre-decease you?
- Who would you like to inherit your property (should your spouse pre-decease you)
- How would you like your residuary estate to be shared?
- With regards to potential liabilities that continue after death such as debts, taxes and charges, how would you like these to be paid?
- With regards to property would you like property to be inherited free of mortgage?
Disinherit
- Is there anyone in particular that you would not like to benefit from your estate?
I’m going to run through a list of assets, please can you confirm if any of these items are present in the estate?
- Property, is this subject to a mortgage
- Personal assets such as bank accounts
- Personal property assets, things like cars, jewellery, shares
- Shares
- life assurance policies and pension death benefits
- Debts + Funeral expenses
- Did [the deceased], make any gifts of value in the 7 years before death (gifts of over £250)
IHT- Estate Overview (2)
Estate Overview
What assets do you currently own (e.g. property, bank accounts, investments, business interests)?
Do you own your home outright, and do you intend to leave it to your children or grandchildren?
IHT- LCT and PETs (5)
Lifetime Gifts / PETs
Have you made any gifts of money, property, or valuable items in the last 7 years?
Did you continue to benefit from any of those gifts (e.g. living in a property you gave away)?
Have you made any regular gifts from your income (e.g. birthday money, school fees)?
Lifetime Chargeable Transfers (LCTs)
Have you ever given money/transferred assets into a trust (excluding a disabled trust)?
Have you given money/transferred anything into a company or business structure?
IHT- RNRB eligibility
RNRB Eligibility
Do you plan to leave your main residence to your children, grandchildren, or other direct descendants?
Is the total value of your estate likely to exceed £2 million?
IHT- Reliefs:
Charitable giving
Charitable Giving
Do you intend to leave any gifts to charity in your will?
Roughly what proportion or amount are you considering leaving?
IHT- Reliefs:
Spouse/Civil Partner
Spouse / Civil Partner
Are you married, in a civil partnership, or widowed?
Do you intend to leave some or all of your estate to your spouse or civil partner?
IHT Reliefs:
Business/Agricultural Reliefs
Business / Agricultural Relief
Do you own any business assets, shares in a private company, or agricultural land?
Have you owned these assets for at least 2 years?
IHT- Life Insurance and Pensions
Life Insurance / Pensions
Do you have any life insurance policies or death-in-service benefits?
Are they written in trust or payable directly to your estate?
IHT- Client goals and planning intentions (5)
Client Goals / Planning Intentions
- Are you looking to reduce inheritance tax on your estate?
- Are there specific people or charities you wish to benefit?
- Would you consider lifetime gifting to reduce the size of your taxable estate?
- Do you want to ensure your main residence passes efficiently to your descendants?
- Would you prefer a flexible arrangement (like a discretionary trust) or a fixed distribution?
Common questions to deal with concerns a client may have regarding the probate process?
- Do you have any concerns relating to the payment/funding of IHT.
- Do you have any concerns relating to the administration of the estate and potentially avoiding liability against unknown creditors.
- Do you have any concerns in relation to applying for a grant of representation/probate
Common Qs about intermeddling in the estate?
- Have you taken any steps to notify the bank of the deceased’s death.
- Have you taken any steps to deal with the estate thus far?
For example:
- Collecting or using funds from the deceased’s account
- Paying debts or funeral expenses from estate money
- Selling or disposing of estate assets
