To enable us to deal with our growth and expansion of the team we have moved our offices to Forest Business Park in Fulford, York

Pavilion Row is delighted to announce  two new appointments to the team; Lorna Jessop as director and Head of Finance, and Jenny Slater as director and Head of Legal Practice.

Lorna is a Chartered Accountant and has been working with us in a financial capacity for some time. The new role will see Lorna taking on the regulated aspects regarding finance.

Jenny is a solicitor and a full member of STEP. Originally from the South West, Jenny has recently moved to Yorkshire. She has many years’ experience in both large and smaller firms including setting up an ABS for a financial adviser firm. In Jenny’s capacity as Head of Legal she will be responsible for leading the legal team through our next level of growth whilst maintaining Pavilion Row’s ethos for the delivery and quality of our client service.

Back in July the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced that the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) had been over charging court fees for registration of Power of Attorneys and that the overpaid fees would be refunded.

MoJ have now published details of the refund scheme;

Anyone who registered their Power of Attorneys (LPA or EPA) between the 1st April 2013 and 31^st March 2017 is entitled to a refund.

Only the donor (person who has made the power of attorney) or an attorney can apply for the refund.

It is a straight forward process that can be done online, click here for details. You will only need address and date of birth details for you and one of your attorneys along with your bank details for where you wish the refund to be paid into.

Pavilion Row has today, 1st February 2018,  become an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) licenced and regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).

Angus Houston, Managing Director of Pavilion Row, said “Our new ABS status is a significant milestone in the growth of the business. We continue to offer advice based legal services for wills, powers of attorney and probate / estate administration and ensure that all our advisers are STEP qualified which means that they are recognised as some of the most experienced and qualified individuals in this area of work. The ABS status adds to this by giving further protection to our customers through the Legal Ombudsman and a compensation fund.

In a surprise U-turn last night the Ministry of Justice have scrapped for now the proposed increase in probate fees. They have stated that there is not enough time for the proposed legislation to go through parliament ahead of the general election.

Nothing has been said as yet on whether scheme will be brought back if the government are re-elected.

Further Reading:
BBC News

As of the 1st April 2017 the fee charged by the courts for registering an LPA has been reduced from £110 to £82

You may have seen the news recently that Probate Registry court fees will change in May to a banded system based on the value of the estate. The fees in some cases will increase from the current flat rate of £155 to £20,000! (the table below shows the full details)

Whilst the need for change may have been acceptable, the level of fees imposed are arguably unjustified which has caused anger within the industry. Particularly in view of the government’s admission that the Probate Registry was already self-funding on the existing fee structure and that of the 829 respondents to the consultation only 63 agreed with linking the fees in this way.

The fees are required to be paid upfront i.e. before the grant of probate and many are concerned as to how the fees are to be funded. The government’s paper states that executors or beneficiaries may have to loan the estate the money; this is easier said than done when the amounts we are referring to are in the thousands.

For many this is being viewed simply as an additional death tax.

However, unlike inheritance tax (IHT) this fee is irrespective of who inherits the estate i.e. spouses and charities who are currently exempt from IHT will still be required to pay the probate fee.

This could mean, for example, a widower where the estate comprises mainly of the family home having to raise thousands of pounds simply to get probate for transferring an ISA.

The worry is that this may lead people to make very unwise decisions with regards to their assets and estate planning, such as the inappropriate use of trusts, or placing assets into joint names. It will also give fuel to the fire for unscrupulous sales based firms providing schemes that promise to save thousands but never actually work.

As ever it is imperative that people get proper qualified advice so that they can understand the options available and what is the best for their circumstances.

Probate Registry Court Fees as of May 2017

• £0 for estates under £50,000
• £300 for estates worth more than £50,000 and up to £300,000
• £1,000 for estates worth more than £300,000 and up to £500,000
• £4,000 for estates worth more than £500,000 and up to £1 million
• £8,000 for estates worth more than £1m and up to £1.6 million
• £12,000 for estates worth more than £1.6m and up to £2 million
• £20,000 for estates worth more than £2 million

Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends programme is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition.

Our colleague Dawn, is a trained Dementia Friends Champion volunteer. As a volunteer she runs free 1 hour information sessions where people learn some key messages about dementia and commit to turning understanding into action. In our commitment to support Dawn and the Dementia Friends initiative we are now running regular Dementia Friends training sessions from our offices.

The sessions are open to all and the next session will be at 9.00 am on Friday 17^th February.

If you are interested in attending, you can book the session via the Dementia Friends website or alternatively contact us.

If there are several of you who wish to attend a session then it maybe possible to run the training at your offices. Please contact Dawn directly to discuss this.

Further sessions will be arranged, so if you can’t attend on the 17^th then please register your interest with us and we will inform you of new dates.

For sometime now there has been on going debate discussing the pros and cons of regulation in the Will industry with the Legal Services Board commissioning a number of research projects looking at this area.  Angus shares his views on this topic in the STEP journal this month, read the article here.

In tax year April 2016 the government’s receipts of Inheritance Tax (IHT) leaped to £4.66bn. This is a 22 per cent increase on the previous year and as house prices continue to rise, more and more family estates are becoming liable for the tax (a 40% tax payable on the portion of a person’s estate above the Nil Rate Band, which is currently £325,000).

To reduce the IHT burden on people who may wish to pass their family home to their direct descendants (children, stepchildren, adopted children, grandchildren or foster children), the government is phasing in a new top-up allowance – the Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) – from April 2017.

This will allow some estates to benefit from an additional tax-free allowance of up to £175k per individual (£350k per couple) by 2020/21. However, if your current will creates a discretionary trust as a tax-efficient way to leave your property to your children, the new top-up allowance may not apply to you.

Here’s why

Currently, when the first spouse dies, all their assets can be passed to the second spouse tax free and their Nil Rate Band (NRB) allowance of £325k can be transferred to the second spouse. This means that when the second spouse dies, there is a total NRB of £650k. In other words, no Inheritance Tax is payable on the first £650k of the second spouse’s estate.

Prior to October 2007, it was not possible to transfer the NRB allowance. Therefore, many people set up planning within their wills in order to ensure that they benefit from both NRB allowances. This involves transferring the assets (up to the NRB) of the first spouse to die into a discretionary trust so that, for Inheritance Tax purposes, these will not be included in the estate of the second spouse when they die.

If you have arranged for your property or qualifying assets to pass to your children in this way, your estate will not qualify for the new RNRB. This is because these assets are not seen as passing directly to your beneficiaries – one of the eligibility criteria for the new RNRB.

What you can do

The first step is to review your will in light of the new RNRB and consider your reasons for setting up the discretionary trust.

For example, is the purpose of your trust to ensure that your assets, including property, will be passed on tax-efficiently or is it to ensure a level of protection and control over the assets, or a combination both? Are these reasons still valid or have your priorities or circumstances changed?

A qualified adviser can help you clarify your requirements and understand your options, including whether a discretionary trust is still the best option for you, so that you have a Will that continues to meet all your needs.

For more information contact us for a copy of our RNRB fact sheet.

STEP is profiling Angus this week

Article taken from STEP’s website, Friday 5th August 2016, http://www.step.org/interviews/60-second-interview-angus-houston

What does your firm do?

Pavilion Row is a firm of TEPs that specialises in wills, powers of attorney and estate administration and provides a private client department for our professional introducers.

What has STEP done for you, individually, or as a business?

Individually STEP has provided me with the knowledge to do my job and keep abreast of ongoing changes. As a business it is gives us creditability as specialists in our field, and as an accredited Employer Partner, STEP is helping us shape our learning and development internally.

What is the most important thing STEP does, in your opinion?

It is a benchmark of experience and knowledge in a fragmented and unregulated marketplace.

What do you most like about your job?

Working with clients who sometimes have quite personal and difficult family circumstances and helping them to find a way to plan an outcome they want.

.. and what do you feel is most worthwhile?

Being a point of contact and providing experienced, practical and knowledgeable advice.

What would you say to a young person thinking of a career in this industry?

It is a great opportunity that can be highly satisfying, but if you want a successful career in this area, follow the STEP qualifications, so that you are an elite advisor.

Where do you see future growth, both in terms of sectors and jurisdictions?

I see a growth in specialist firms with specialist knowledge.

What do you feel are the main challenges facing your organisation/practitioners at the moment, and how will you deal with them?

The wealth of freely available information, predominately on the internet, often means that it is a challenge to get clients to understand the value of qualified and experienced advice. I find the best way to deal with this, is to ask relevant questions which help the client think beyond what they might believe are simple requirements

Which social media channels do you use and why?

Linked In is a great way to network with professional peers. As a firm we dabble in other social media, but we do believe that the true way to form long term established relationships is by talking to people.

Angus Houston TEP is the managing director of Pavilion Row Ltd, a STEP Employer Partner, providing private client services across England and Wales. He completed his STEP Diploma in 2008 and is currently Chair of STEP Yorkshire.

Pavilion Row, has chosen to become a member of the Business Partners scheme to highlight its commitment to Yorkshire’s thriving artistic life and, in particular, to celebrate the work of Opera North, the only national opera company based outside London.

Angus Houston, Pavilion Row’s Managing Director, said:

“At Pavilion Row, we pride ourselves on our individual, flexible approach and value this chance to join forces with an arts organisation that is as committed as we are to creativity, innovation and excellence and to presenting the very best of what the North has to offer locally, nationally and internationally.”

Opera North launched the Business Partners scheme in 2015 to build connections with and between those business leaders who value the role the arts play in enriching life in the North and who are keen to further Yorkshire’s vast cultural, social and economic potential. It enables businesses to get closer to the Company and to gain an insight into all of its activities, including its projects with schools, young people and the wider community. Pavilion Row becomes a member of the scheme alongside such companies as Yorkshire Building Society, Yorkshire Water, KPMG, William Jackson Food Group and Land Securities.

Jo Graham, Opera North’s Business Development Manager, said:

“Opera North is a unique cultural and economic asset to Leeds and the wider Northern region. A registered charity with a £16m annual turnover that contributes significantly to the region’s economic and cultural wealth, it is at the forefront of the Leed’s burgeoning international reputation.

“The Business Partners scheme gives organisations the chance to get to know us better and also to work with us to promote everything the North of England has to offer. We are delighted to welcome Pavilion Row on board.”