Taking Control; Safeguarding the Distribution of Your Assets by Making A Will
The Importance of Making a WillA valid will is one of the most important documents you could ever put your signature to, as the consequences of failing to make a will before you die can have far-reaching effects on the people you care about most. Despite the importance of this legal document, it is still the case that only 3 out of every 10 people make a will mainly due to lack of awareness as to why a Will is needed. The 3 most important reasons why a Will should be made are;
- Simplifying Administration Process
- Intestacy & Distribution of Assets
- Inheritance Tax
Where no will has been made the process of applying for the grant is drawn out, causing aggravated upset and anxiety for relatives and possibly acrimonious disputes and legal costs over who should deal with the estate. A valid Will resolves these problems as persons will already have been appointed by the Will ? executors ? to deal with the estate and can obtain the grant and begin the distribution of the assets in a minimal period of time thus saving costs, time and unnecessary distress.2. Intestacy & Distribution of AssetsMaking a Will is the only way to ensure that the people you wish to inherit from your estate actually do so. Failing to make a Will will result in the law of Intestacy being applied, and the intestacy rules will dictate who will receive what, and often this will not accord with what you would have wanted. For example;
- If you are single you may want to distribute your assets amongst selected friends and family.
The rules of intestacy will not take into account any relationships based on friendship, and will distribute amongst relatives only, everything passing to the State if no relatives can be found.
- If you are living as cohabitees (unmarried couple) you may want your partner to derive some benefit from your estate, perhaps to remain in the family home for example. The rules of intestacy would not take your partner into account; as far as the law is concerned, you would be treated as a single person and your partner would receive nothing.
- If you are married with children you might assume that your spouse would receive everything. This is not always the case, as brothers and sisters and often your children will also have a claim.
- If you are a parent, you might assume that if anything were to happen to you that your closest relatives would be responsible for the care of your children. However, the matter will need to be taken to the Courts for them decide who should have custody, a process which can be very drawn out and distressing to the parties involved. This particular consequence is of vital importance if you are a single parent or unmarried couple with children.
Making a Will is invaluable by appointing Guardians to be responsible for the care of your children.
When you add up everything you own ? including personal items etc ? you may find you are worth a substantial amount of money.
In addition, you might be dismayed to discover that you also be liable to pay inheritance tax!The following table provides a breakdown of how much inheritance tax might become payable on your estate.Estate Value
Taxable Estate
IHT Tax @ 40%?275,000 or less
0
0?300,000
? 25,000
?10,000?350,000
? 75,000
?30,000?400,000
?125,000
?50,000?450,000
?175,000
?70,000?500,000
?225,000
?90,000Making a Will is one of the best tax avoidance tools you can employ ? in addition to others and utilising the exemptions which are available.Making a Will is probably one of the last ? and most important ? undertakings you can do for the benefit of your family and those you love?failure to make one can have far reaching and dire consequences.JsByrneLLB (Hons) LPc.www.Draft-Your-Will.com.
Real Estate investing is getting faster and easier
It takes time and effort for a real estate investor to locate a deal.
There are lots of properties for sale, but finding the deals is not always easy.
Fortunately, many tools and websites are available which provide valuable information and make it easier.
Now, an investor can do most of their analysis on a property before they even see it.
One example is a subscription site called Real Quest (www.realquest.com), which allows subscribers to look at liens, tax records and comparable sales.
Another site, www.zillow.com even shows an aerial view of some properties.
In addition, many of the counties across the U.S. now have free access to tax records on-line.
And, of course, if the investor is a licensed agent they have access to the MLS.
Taking advantage of these and other on-line resources, an investor can calculate the retail value of a property without even seeing it.
Figuring out the...
Tax help > Real Estate investing is getting faster and easier
President of PayrollonaBudget.com, Recently Interviewed on 'Heartbeat of America,' Offers Tax Tips
Lewisville, TX (ContentDesk) December 21, 2005 -- December marks tax time again for small businesses and, as such, many business owners are turning to the Internet in search of ways to reduce the painful bite they are about to experience. One such Web site is PayrollonaBudget.com. Recently featured on the news television series, "Heartbeat of America," this Web site provides business owners with helpful tips, advice and services to legally cut their business' payroll and taxes. During his interview, Charles J. Read, President of PayrollonaBudget, was asked to discuss problems that business owners face in handling their payroll while maintaining compliance with the country's burdensome tax regulations.
The eight-minute episode aired November of 2005.Read is now offering several tips to the public on how to avoid paying estimated income tax and estimated tax penalties."For those business owners who haven't yet made the estimated tax payments they should have made and are looking...
President of PayrollonaBudget.com, Recently Interviewed on 'Heartbeat of America,' Offers Tax Tips
Tax help > President of PayrollonaBudget.com, Recently Interviewed on 'Heartbeat of America,' Offers Tax Tips
Consolidate Debt With A Home Equity Loan
If you are a home owner who is having to borrow from Peter to pay Paul due to a mounting debt load, a debt consolidation home equity loan may be the answer. A debt consolidation loan will allow you to consolidate your high interest credit card and consumer loans into one low rate, affordable monthly payment.A debt consolidation home equity loan is a secured loan. Your home will be used as collateral and the lender will have a lien on your home until the loan is paid off. None the less if you are drowning in a sea of debt, a debt consolidation loan can give you a new financial start. It can help you avoid bankruptcy as well as end harassing creditor phone calls.
In addition, in most cases your monthly payment will be significantly lower freeing up cash that can be used for savings.It is important that once you obtain your debt consolidation loan that you cut up your credit cards and close out the accounts. This will help you to avoid the temptation of running up another debt load...
Consolidate Debt With A Home Equity Loan
Tax help > Consolidate Debt With A Home Equity Loan
As a Bookseller Don't Risk Being Accused of Cheating on Your Taxes
Copyright (c) 2006 Michael Mould
Many online booksellers are of the opinion that their selling of books online falls under the heading of a hobby and they are not obligated to report the federal or state income from their bookselling endeavors, and while I am not a tax consultant or a tax lawyer, I believe many of them are grossly mistaken in their interpretation.
If you are selling books regularly through one of the online marketplaces and realizing a real profit from these sales, you are operating a business and you are required to pay an income tax on your profits.
If you are selling your own collection of books, you may still be obligated to pay an income tax on the sales if what you are selling them for exceeds what you paid for them or if you depreciated them previously.
I have read several places recently that the IRS has been looking into the online sellers of all kinds of products with a particularly keen interest in sellers having...
Tax help > As a Bookseller Don't Risk Being Accused of Cheating on Your Taxes
Residential Property Abroad
It is increasingly common for individuals to own more than one property and in many cases the first investment after the family residence is in a holiday home. Whether you are buying a place in the sun, a country retreat or a city centre apartment, if it is in a foreign country you will be exposed to an unfamiliar legal system and to taxes in the country concerned. It is therefore important, even before a contract is signed, to decide whether to make the purchase in your personal name or through a company. To change course later will always be expensive. It is however usually possible to reduce exposure to tax.Buying in a personal nameAssuming the property is for personal occupation, the form of tax, which is most easily avoided, is estate or inheritance tax.
The death of the person in whose name the property is registered will normally give rise to a liability which may exceed 40% of the value at the time and the tax will usually have to be paid before the property can be sold...
Residential Property Abroad
Tax help > Residential Property Abroad
Use of GPS Running Watches for health improvement and physical training
By ofhttp://www.everything-gps.comA growing concern among many people in the world is the quality of health and physical training. As it gets easier to eat more and exercise less, it has become vital that individuals have access to a variety of tools to make training as systematic and easy as possible. Due to this, investing in a GPS running watch can make a large difference to runners...
Use of GPS Running Watches for health improvement and physical training Taking Control; Safeguarding the Distribution of Your Assets by Making A Will watches Tax help
Tax help > Use of GPS Running Watches for health improvement and physical training
How To Clean A Mattress
I work for the housekeeping department in one of the most reputed hotels in my town and mattresses are my specialty. Everything from purchasing decision to their maintenance is handled by me. So, I guess I should not be surprised if every other day one of my friends or their friends calls up to asks me "How do I clean the mattress?". Everyone wants a tip on how to clean the mattress.As I kept repeating these tips time after time, I realized that there might be others who would want to know how...
mattress How To Clean A Mattress Taking Control; Safeguarding the Distribution of Your Assets by Making A Will
Tax help > How To Clean A Mattress
Taking Control; Safeguarding the Distribution of Your Assets by Making A Will