Whitebrook Wills Blog

The average cost of a funeral or cremation has soared 80% in the past ten years to around £3,456 and the current government relief is not sufficient to cover this bill.

Rev Bryan Kerr, minister at Greyfriars Church in Lanark, is urging the UK government to help bereaved families who lack funds to pay for funerals by supporting them with money collected through taxation. Besides, approximately half of people applying for support are not successful and those who eventually have their requests approved receive just £1,225 on average, Kerr said as quoted by the Express and Star.

In his area, the cost of a burial has skyrocketed 345% in five years, the Herald reported.

The Church of Scotland minister is urging the government to use National Insurance to provide a basic allowance, which can be topped up if people want to hold a more elaborate funeral ceremony.

Funeral poverty is affecting some of the most vulnerable people in the society, forcing them to resort to payday loans to cover funeral expenses. This pushes them further and further into debt, Rev Kerr told the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland last week.

He also believes that taxes should be increased to help cover rising funeral expenses. This would benefit everyone, he said.

In order to ensure the viability of a scheme offering state insurance for funerals, local authorities need to curb their costs as well. This means that councils and organizations providing burial and cremation services should rein in their charges, according to Rev Kerr.

Almost two thirds of Britons have not made a Will and so risk leaving a financial nightmare for family members when they die.

Results from a recent study by Dying Matters Coalition, confirms that only a third of adults in the UK have written a Will, whilst the vast majority of the public (83%) state that they feel "uncomfortable" when it comes to talking about their dying wishes. Just 6% of the public have written down their wishes or preferences about their future care, should they be unable to make decisions for themselves.

This suggests that end-of-life planning and talking about death is still a taboo subject for many people.

In addition, over half of Britons in a relationship are unaware of their partners' dying wishes, and just 29% of UK adults say they have discussed their funeral wishes with somebody.

The survey also took into account the digital age. It appears that some people feel more able to pay tribute to someone who has died than discuss their own wishes: just over a fifth of those surveyed say they have talked about their end of life wishes, yet 27% state they have written a social media post to someone who has passed away. Despite the growth of social media, more than seven in ten say they have never even contemplated what would happen to their digital legacy - this includes social media and online accounts, online music and photos - when they die.

Claire Henry, Chief Executive of the Dying Matters Coalition and the National Council for Palliative Care, said: "Dying is one of life’s few certainties, but many of us appear to be avoiding discussing it or in denial altogether. Talking more openly about dying and planning ahead is in everyone's interests, as it can help ensure we get our wishes met and make it easier for our loved ones. You only die once, which is why it’s so important to make your wishes known while there’s still time." To arrange a home visit with a consultant who will put you at your ease and help you with this, please call 01985 850622. Remember it’s never too early to make a Will, but it can be too late.

A recent article in The Telegraph examined why staying single could lead to inheritance rows, following the results of 2011's census, which reveals that just under half of all UK adults are married.

The statistics showed that:

- UK adults who are married dropped from 51% to just under 47% between the 2001 census and the 2011 census

- The number of adults classing themselves as single had risen by a quarter

- The number of divorcees had risen by a fifth

- Around half of all children are now born outside marriage

With the change in society's attitudes towards cohabiting couples and divorce, many couples now choose to have a family but simply not to go to the expense and fuss of a wedding.

Problems arise however, when one of the partners dies without having left an up to date will.

Contrary to popular belief there is no such thing as a common law marriage and if the individuals are not married, then the next of kin is often considered to be the children, parents or siblings of the deceased. The surviving partner could be left with nothing.

If you want to stay together as a couple but not marry, then at least plan for the future by having wills professionally drafted for you. In this way, you can rest assured that you will continue to support each other – even after death.

Gifting property to reduce inheritance tax is a popular way of ensuring that more of the money you make in your lifetime goes to your loved ones when you die, rather than to the taxman.

Gifting property to your beneficiaries whilst you're alive means that the value of your estate will be considerably reduced. If the gifts are made outright however, this does mean that you will not receive any share of the money if the property is sold, or rented out. Under the Potential Exemption Transfer rules Inheritance tax total exemption will only be granted if you do not die within seven years of making this gift.

Alternatively, the property can be part gifted, which means that you and your beneficiaries will all become part owners. In this way, the parts of the property you don't own may be exempt from IHT, but you can still receive an income.

Finally, by releasing equity on the property and gifting that to the beneficiaries, the estate loses some of its value and the property remains entirely within your ownership.