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:
Dear Mr Weston and TeamThis is another commendation to add to the ones already sent to you by satisfied customers.My Mother passed away at the end of August and named me as an executor. I did initially consider doing all the Probate myself, but having struggled with the online Form for a while I started to worry, because some questions were not very clear. I found Berkeley Weston's DIY Probate service online and contacted you. My first email from you was on 1st November. I filled out the details necessary for the PA1 Probate Form and returned it to you. When you sent the completed PA1 back to me I noticed with interest that there were four questions I would have filled out wrongly, had I done it myself! Having signed the PA1 Form I returned it to you.I was delighted to receive my Letters of Grant of Probate on 20th December - the whole process having taken less than two months.I have already recommended you to friends who may need your service in the fairly near future, and will continue to do so, to anybody who needs help with filling out the PA1 ( probate) Form.I will just add that when I contacted my solicitor to ask for his help, he told me it would cost about £4,000 for the cost of executing the Will of my Mother, and could take up to a year to complete.SincerelyGrant Perry
I thought this service was going to be too good to be true but, thankfully, I was wrong. Initially, I opted for the do-it-yourself option, which was a comprehensive pack but then following a telephone call with Sam P, I decided to go with the Assisted DIY Probate. Once we had collated all the information needed, we had a 'on line meet' with Phil who went through everything with us, and within half an hour or so, the application was finalised and posted out the same day. This was mid December, and we had Probate granted in the first week of January which was less than 4 weeks. An amazing service which Berkeley Weston made so much less daunting. Thank you to Phil and the BW Team.
Excellent, fast, hassle-free and cost-effective Assisted service with great advice and support from both Phil and Samantha. Definitely recommend using this service as they make it so easy at a decent price. (We had received a quote for five times the amount we paid to Berkeley Weston.)
I found Berkeley Weston Ltd. DIY Probate by chance and I am so glad I did!They have made the whole process much less stressful than I anticipated.Their DIY pack is a mine of information at an exceptional price saving a lot of stress and keeping costs down.I would definitely recommend Berkeley Weston Ltd. to any person needing assistance through the probate process.
The pack clearly explained the inheritance tax and probate process. The guidance in the pack enabled me to make my own submission saving time and money. I would thoroughly recommend the Berkeley Weston Ltd DIY Probate pack.
Exceptional assistance and guidance in obtaining IHT400 clearance and Grant of Probate for my late wife’s estate. The process and form filling were rather daunting when one is at a personal low ebb. Berkley Weston aided this process and provided support which was much appreciated. Grant of Probate received in a much quicker time than I had expected.
I originally ordered the DIY Probate booklet and started following the steps. I had to do the inheritance tax and probate. I rang their office a couple of times and Samantha was very helpful and informative. I relised l was out of my depth and would feel much more confident if they were doing the legal work for me. Phil Weston took over for me and the inheritance tax and grant of probate were all completed in two months. I am extremely happy with their friendly and prompt service and would definitely recommend them.
We received the DIY Probate pack which looked good. But it was a stressful time so we decided to accept the assisted path which was very affordable.We had a Zoom meeting with Phil during which he completed the Probate Application form with us and for us.THIRTEEN DAYS LATER we received the Probate documents through the post. Easy peasy.The follow up phone call with Samantha cleared our doubts and ignorance about Capital gains tax on the property that is to be sold later.I recommend Phil and Berkeley/Wilson without reservation and they will be first in line if we ever need further legal assistance.
Superb service so glad I decided to use Berkeley Weston.Completely took the stress away at a difficult time .Phil and Samantha were superb they made the whole process simple and stress free.I would recommend them 100%Thank you Phil and Samantha
A really excellent and cost effective service! The DIY Probate pack itself is brilliant, but we also used the Assisted Probate Service that was offered - this made it considerably easier for us, as it took all the pressure off, and the anxiety over which forms we needed to fill in. The cost was also considerably cheaper than going to a high street Probate Solicitor. Both Phil and Samantha were brilliant in explaining what was needed. The electronic templates they provided made it easier to know how to assess estate valuations for IHT. Communication throughout was excellent, and we were both prompted and well informed at each step. Phil completed the relevant IHT forms for us also and ensured we were happy with them before submission. It enabled us to obtain the Grant of Probate well ahead of expected schedule - in fact it only took 3 weeks after submission of the online probate application which Phil took us through step by step via video call. It included a post Probate meeting which was excellent and reassuring as to what final steps were needed to finalise estate matters I can highly recommend this service.
The help we received from Berkeley Weston with obtaining Probate for my father-in-law’s estate was excellent. We were given lots of help with the process and getting Probate was then quite easy and quick. I would highly recommend them.
Dealing with Weston and Berkeley was very good in all aspects.Having dealt with them previously 8 years ago for my late Father’s estate using the old paper/post method, which took nearly 3 months to complete.This time in order to deal with my now late Mother’s estate, we chose to use the new online service with Phil Weston personally dealing with the Goverment gateway application via a video conference call.This was so straightforward and professional at all times.The granted probate was completed in just over 3 weeks !Phil and his team deserve all the accolades going for making this difficult process of dealing with a loved ones estate so straightforward and professional.
An amazing source of information that will guide you in obtaining probate easily and swiftly. The information is given in stages so you are not overwhelmed in what needs doing. I really appreciated the various letter templates that are provided to enable you to contact relevant banks and other organisations. This is a five star product and the best book that I acquired before starting the probate process. I say book, but in reality I only really used the internet based version, which is even less overwhelming than the printed version. Thanks to the DIY Probate Pack I was able to move forward at each stage of the process with confidence, enabling probate to be obtained quicker than expected.
Hi Phil, Thank u so much for helping me applying for probate. My late sister lived in Birmingham but I reside in North Wales so it ceated a few problems to say the least. I find it difficult to travel so if was so helpful when I initially received your probate pack. Following on your service was excellent, the staff were very friendly and helpful and answered any problems that cropped up. Once again many thanks for your help and I would recommend your company any time.Kind regards, Peter.
The DIY Pack was a great help to me being the Executor of my sister's estate. The detail has been clearly assembled by professionals with experience and clarity of thought as probate is a complex subject. It is extremely well written and a comprehensive insight how to navigate and accomplish grant of probate.An excellent product well worth the £29 price tag.
Contact us today
Call us anytime on 0116 279 5044 or fill our the form below to discuss your requirements.
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.