Planning ahead
This topic covers off the following themes:
Power of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is the legal document and written authorisation to represent or act on another’s behalf. Where people lack mental capacity due to an accident, injury or illness, the attorneys can act in the best interest of the person and their estate.
There are two types of LPAs: health and welfare LPA and property and financial affairs LPA. The health and welfare LPA gives the attorney the power to make decisions on their health and wellbeing. For example, the medical care, life-sustaining treatment or moving into a care home. Property and financial affairs LPA is more specific to estate administration. This is where the attorney has the power to make decisions about money and property including the management of bank or building society accounts, paying bills, collecting benefits or pensions or selling the property.
Writing a Will
Writing a Will means your estate (money, possessions, property) will be distributed exactly how you want it when you die. Without a Will, your estate must be distributed following the rules of intestacy. These are legally binding rules that divide your estate amongst your closest living relatives.
You can write your own Will or instruct a professional, like a solicitor or Will writer, to do it for you. Regardless of which approach you take, a Will makes it much easier for your family and friends to sort out your affairs. It can also help reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax that may be payable on the estate.
Dying without a Will
The legal term for dying without a Will is called intestacy. When someone dies without a Will, the estate (money, possessions, property) will be distributed following the rules of intestacy. Unfortunately, the rules of intestacy do not favour unmarried partners or those not in a civil partnership, close friends and carers.
To find out who inherits in an intestacy, gov.uk have created a questionnaire. You can access the questionnaire by clicking here. It asks questions like: where did the deceased live? Was there a surviving partner? What is the value of the estate? Once the question is complete, it will provide a recommendation of who will inherit from the intestate estate.
What is a Deed of Variation?
A Deed of Variation allows for the distribution of the estate, as defined in the Will, to be changed after the death. While the Will may have the best intentions, beneficiaries may decide that certain assets should go to other relatives instead of themselves. This is where a Deed of Variation comes in.
For example, the Will may state that the adult children inherit the money. These adult children may decide the money would be better going straight to their children (the grandchildren). A Deed of Variation will allow the beneficiaries to rearrange or vary their entitlement.
Wills in Scotland
In Scotland, you must be over 12 years of age and of sound mind to write a Will. Surprisingly, the Will must also be in writing and the person writing the Will must sign every page with a witness present. The witness must then sign the final page with their name, address, date and state the place of signing.
Unlike England and Wales, if you get married after creating a Will, the marriage will not invalidate the Will.
What happens if there are overseas assets (property, shares)?
An estate containing overseas assets is becoming increasingly common, with these assets being anything from bank accounts and shares to property. As these assets contribute to the make up of an estate, they will need administering.
The process of administering overseas assets comes down to the country in which the asset is held. Where these overseas assets exist, typically the Grant of Probate needs to be ‘resealed’ in order to administer the asset. Resealing a Grant of Probate means the Executor can release the overseas asset from the country in which they are held and repatriate the value back to the UK for distribution.
What do I do with someone's social profiles after they have died?
When someone dies, they often leave behind a digital legacy. A digital legacy is the term used to describe someone’s digital footprint i.e. their social media accounts, photos, videos, email accounts, gaming accounts, online shopping accounts and more.
When looking specifically at social profiles, there are typically three options for Executors when looking at a deceased social profiles: closing, deleting or deactivating the account, memorialising the account or keeping it as is. You may think that after a period of inactivity, social accounts would be closed automatically. This is not always the case.
Closing a Facebook profile after death
Facebook now gives people the option to memorialise an account. This means the account remains active but only in a memorial view. That is, giving Facebook friends the chance to view the deceased photos, videos and updates. Memorialising the account also removes the deceased’s birthday notifications.
Facebook also gives users an option to add a legacy contact to their account. A legacy contact is someone that is chosen to look after a Facebook profile if it’s memorialised – essentially the page administrator upon death.
To close or memorialise the account, you will need a birth certificate, a death certificate or link to an obituary or news article about their death, proof of authority to act upon their behalf.
Closing a Twitter account after death
Twitter is one of the few providers that will automatically deactivate an account after around six months of inactivity. It can however be relaunched again if the account is logged into later on. If the email address and password is unknown, you will need the username, a death certificate, a copy of your own ID (passport or driving licence), a signed statement with your details and the reason for deactivation, a link to an obituary or news article about their death to deactivate the account.
Closing an Instagram profile after death
Like Facebook, Instagram can also memorialise an account. Instagram will leave the account active so friends and family can access the photos and videos. They will disable the account and provide additional protection to ensure the account is not hacked at a later date.
To memorialise an Instagram account, you will need the birth and death certificate of the deceased and proof of authority to act on their behalf.
Closing a LinkedIn profile after death
In order to close a Basic LinkedIn profile, LinkedIn needs to view the following details: member name, URL of the profile, your relationship to the deceased, their email address, the date the died, a link to their obituary and the name of the last company they worked for.
Closing a Pinterest account after death
Pinterest will not completely destroy an account – they will instead deactivate it. In order to close a Pinterest account, you will need to provide the full name and email address of the deceased as well as your name, a link to their Pinterest account, a death certificate or obituary, proof of your relationship with the deceased i.e. marriage certificate, family tree or household records like tenancy agreement, utility statements or council tax bills. A Deed of Variation allows for the distribution of the estate, as defined in the Will, to be changed after the death. While the Will may have the best intentions, beneficiaries may decide that certain assets should go to other relatives instead of themselves. This is where a Deed of Variation comes in.
For example, the Will may state that the adult children inherit the money. These adult children may decide the money would be better going straight to their children (the grandchildren). A Deed of Variation will allow the beneficiaries to rearrange or vary their entitlement.