Estate Planning
At Berkeley Weston, we help you create an end-of-life plan to secure your independence later in life, reduce stress on your loved ones and help protect your legacy from the taxman.
Download our "Getting Your Affairs In Order" document below for a comprehensive list of everything you need to do:
The team at Berkeley Weston have been immensely helpful in helping our family with Last Will and Testaments and advice around Lasting Power of Attorneys. Unlike several solicitors I've spoken to, they speak in plain English and don't bombard you with jargon, which is really refreshing.
I'd highly recommend the Berkeley Weston team if you have any requirements for Wills or Lasting Power of Attorney.
I'd highly recommend the Berkeley Weston team if you have any requirements for Wills or Lasting Power of Attorney.
Here’s how we can help you with your estate planning:
Last Will and Testament
If you die without a valid Will, your property, money and assets will be divided up according to legal rules drawn up by Parliament, which may be inconsistent and at odds with your personal wishes.
A lack of Will results in a complicated legal mess, which will no doubt add significant stress and heartache at a time when they could really do without it.
If children under the age of 18 are part of the equation, it’s even more vital that a Will is written up – it’s the only certain way to ensure your children are raised by someone of your choosing in the event of your death.
We’ve been writing Last Will and Testament documents for over 20 years, we’re much more affordable than your average solicitors, and you’ll end up with a legally compliant Will that reflects your circumstances, protects your loved ones and gives you peace of mind.
Worse than that, without a valid Lasting Power of Attorney, you risk losing control of decisions about where you live and who looks after you.
Over the years, we’ve stopped this happening to thousands of people:
- You CAN prevent the Government making decisions you don’t want them to make on your behalf.
- You CAN stop them forcing you into a care home.
- You CAN protect your assets, and ensure that they end up with your loved ones rather than in the treasury
- You CAN ensure that everything you’ve worked so hard to build up isn’t wasted and does end up helping the people you care about to forge a fantastic future
And we can help you with all of the above.
Lasting Power of Attorney
If you own your own home and/or have assets, whether in cash, property or funds, then keep watching, unless you’ve put specific provisions in place, there’s every chance that the government will plunder those assets and your home.
What our customers say:
Helpful, friendly & efficient. Provided peace of mind that application was submitted correctly and resulted in a grant of probate within two weeks, which was incredibly helpful to ensure property sale could continue without too much delay. Thank you. Would definitely recommend.
I sent for Berkeley Weston's DIY Probate pack when my father died. I chose the 'hard copy' version, detailed explanation and flow chart, immediately named 'the Probate Snake' by our family. For most straightforward probate situations this free pack would have been sufficient.
In our case, we did need to consult Phil Weston, very clear fixed fee and knowledgeable guidance, especially with the IHT400 Tax Form meant that, when probate was applied for we achieved it in just over two weeks.
I have no hesitation in recommending this friendly but professional service.
In our case, we did need to consult Phil Weston, very clear fixed fee and knowledgeable guidance, especially with the IHT400 Tax Form meant that, when probate was applied for we achieved it in just over two weeks.
I have no hesitation in recommending this friendly but professional service.
Excellent service received, would highly recommend for making the probate process so much easier at an already difficult time.
Berkeley Weston LTD did a first class job in getting my grant of probate for me. The inheritance tax forms were a minefield because getting them wrong means I would have had to pay tens of thousands of IHT. Sarah and Phil were very pleasant to deal with and they are very professional and basically very good at what they do. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Gerry
Gerry
Probate granted after just three weeks, despite the lack of a Will. BW were worth every penny to ensure a clean application. The reassuring guidance by phone and email was invaluable too.
I found it to be an excellent service, easy to follow guidance with Berkeley Weston doing the more complicated part of accurately assessing what you are entitled to and the completion of the IHT400 form, as well as the submission and following through the processes to complete the Probate. My late Mum's estate was finalised with funds received exactly 6 months to the day after her death and that was without rushing at any point. Whilst you could do it all yourself for free I feel that the payment we made to Berkeley Weston for their assistance was money well spent and I have no hesitation in recommending them.
These guys know what they are doing. Their service is fast, easy to understand and much less expensive than my lawyer was quoting. I will recommend them to anyone who asks me in the future. Thank you Berleley Weston.
I had no idea where to start with probate, particularly as my late husband had no will. My only previous experiences had been dealing with my parents estate which went through solicitors at great cost. I came across Berkeley Weston and decided to try the free telephone advice call. Samantha was so helpful and friendly that I decided to proceed with their assisted probate service. After completing some straightforward calls and opening an account with the Probate registry, I had a video call with Phil who had prefilled the application for me so all I needed to do was check the details, sign and pay the probate register fee. I couldn't believe how simple and painless it was and furthermore I received confirmation that my application was accepted within 6 days! All of this for a fraction of the cost and the time that that the process takes through solicitors, would highly recommend.
If you are looking for help dealing with probate then I would whole heartedly endorse Phil, Sam and the Team at Berkeley Weston. We were recommended them by a family friend, who had used them previously and it was honestly the best piece of advice we received. Knowledgable. responsive, reliable and cost effective.
Our experience with Phil and his colleagues has been fantastic. Was quoted an unholy sum of money from the family solicitor for dealing with the estate. Worse than that was the timeframe given. We decided to take it on ourselves with the help of Phil and even with some delays from one of the asset holders, we still managed to get whole process from sorting IHT to receiving probate complete within a couple of months. The ongoing support is also invaluable. Thank you guys!!!
I have had two experiences of Berkeley Weston DIY Probate. Both very positive. The first was using the "base" DIY service. This worked remarkably well, even though I was a "newbie" to dealing with estates - and resulted in a very smooth and speedy achievement of Probate. Far faster than the lawyers suggested - and at a very small fraction of their estimated cost. The second was the assisted service - where Phil Weston becomes more hands on. Again a very smooth process - and at around a seventh of the quote from solicitors. Thanks Berkeley Weston & Phil.
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Hello, I would just like to say how pleased we are with the service provided by Phil for our IHT probate application. Much cheaper than a solicitor and equally professional. He kept us informed all the way and as it turned out a very quick service from the probate office - probably due to the forms being properly filled in! We went for the full service and it has proved very worthwhile, a big thanks to Phil and his team.