Personal Law

Our private client team is widely recognised as amongst the best in Jersey. We work hard to provide an efficient and personal service in respect of wills and Jersey probate as well as Jersey estate planning and administration.

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“Dear Nina, Once again you have shown that you are an excellent law firm there to help people. Thank you for everything.”

Personal Law

We deal regularly with requests from non-Jersey domiciled firms or individuals who need to obtain Jersey probate in respect of Jersey based bank accounts or shares.

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"I would like to say a big thank you for your work and support and understanding dealing with this case at an incredibly difficult time for me" – Litigation client

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"Philip Syvret provided an excellent service and advice and the team was friendly, helpful and efficient" – Litigation client

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"Many thanks for all your help with this mater, you have been very supportive and helpful." – Family Client

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WILLS, PROBATE AND ESTATE PLANNING

Our Wills, Probate and Estate Planning team is widely recognised as amongst the best in Jersey. Our dedicated team are committed to providing an efficient and personal service.

We regularly deal with requests from non-Jersey domiciled firms and individuals who need to obtain probate and register foreign powers of attorney in Jersey.

Our services include:

  • Drafting Wills and Will Trusts
  • Probate
  • Estate administration
  • Registration of foreign Powers of Attorney
  • Registration of Wills in the Public Registry
  • Estate Planning
  • Effective means of minimising stamp duty on death
  • Advice on inheritance disputes
  • Long Term Care
  • Lasting Powers of Attorney
  • Curatorships/Delegates

WILLS

Why is it important to make a Will?

With no Will in place, your assets pass in accordance with the intestacy rules which may lead to your estate passing to relatives that you did not know or perhaps did not like. A partner or co-habitee, godchild, friend or a charity etc will not inherit under the intestacy rules; they can only inherit if you have a Will in place providing for them.

The only way you can be confident that your wishes will be respected is to have a Will in place. Knowing that loved ones have been provided for is incredibly satisfying and gives peace of mind.

How long will it take?

You will need an appointment with a lawyer to discuss your wishes. Our experience is that the arrangements in respect of a simple family estate can be discussed in a half hour appointment.

The Wills will then be drafted and sent to you for approval within a week or so. You will then need a further short appointment to sign the final form of Will, in front of appropriate witnesses.

Why do I need two wills in Jersey?

A Will dealing with your personal effects needs to be registered in the Probate Registry whereas a Will dealing with your house or land needs to be registered in the Public Registry. Whilst legally it is possible to do a combined will it causes unnecessary delay for a joint Will to be registered first in the Probate Registry before then going on to the Public Registry to deal with the Real Estate bequests. There are also privacy issues to be considered. Preparing separate wills means that matters can be dealt with simultaneously avoiding any delay.

What do I need to think about before instructing someone to write my will?

  • The appointment of an Executor - Executors are people named in a Will of movable estate responsible for carrying out your wishes when you die and sorting out the estate.
  • The gift of a legacy (cash gift) or the gift of a bequest (an item of jewellery / personal effects to be bequeathed to a particular person or organisation.
  • Division of the rest of your estate including the names and addresses of the beneficiaries and if they predecease you who should inherit in their place
  • Funeral arrangements – specific wishes
  • Organ donor clauses
  • The appointment of a guardian for minor children

Make an appointment to speak to one of our team

LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY

A Lasting Power of Attorney (‘LPA’) is a legal document that lets you choose trusted people (‘attorneys’) to make financial decisions or health and welfare decisions on your behalf.

Property and Affairs LPA

This LPA relates to financial decisions such as running your bank accounts, paying your bills, making or disposing of investments or selling your home.

You may stipulate that this attorney can act immediately once you sign the LPA and it is registered at the Judicial Greffe. Alternatively, you may wish the appointment to come into effect only if you can no longer understand and make decisions.

You may also choose whether or not you wish to give your attorney authority to take certain decisions for example to sell your home.

Health and Welfare LPA

This LPA relates to decisions such as your medical treatment, where you live, your diet, dress or daily routine. It only comes into effect should you lose the capacity to make those decisions yourself.

You can choose whether this attorney may make decisions about accepting or refusing life sustaining treatment. Your attorney will be bound by the terms of any direction you may have given, which can be recorded in an Advance Directive.

How many Attorneys should I appoint?

There is no limit on the number of attorneys you may appoint, though appointing several attorneys may cause practical difficulties.

You may appoint an attorney to replace an attorney who is unwilling or unable to continue to act as your attorney, for example because they themselves have lost capacity to make decisions, have died, or the attorney was your spouse or civil partner and you are now divorced.

Should I appoint my attorneys to act jointly or jointly and severally?

Attorneys who are required to act jointly must always make decisions together. If they cannot agree the decision cannot be made.

If a jointly appointed attorney dies then the LPA is invalid, unless replacement attorneys have been appointed. Where replacements are appointed they take over from the remaining joint attorneys, who no longer have any say in decisions that must be made jointly.

A joint and several appointment provides flexibility as the attorneys may make decisions on their own or together. An added advantage is that where one of the attorneys can no longer act, and a replacement has been appointed, the remaining attorneys may continue to make joint and several decisions either on their own or with the replacement.

The execution of an LPA is therefore an important step which requires careful advice to ensure that it is tailored to your specific needs. Please contact our team to discuss your individual requirements.

Download lasting powers of attorney guide

Key Contacts.

NINA BENEST

NINA BENEST


Nina has over has over twenty years’ experience in the legal profession in Jersey. She was sworn in as an Advocate…

Philip Syvret

Philip Syvret


After obtaining his Law degree from the University of London, Philip was admitted as a Solicitor of the Royal Court…

claire kingham

Claire Kingham


Claire has over 25 years of experience practising law in Jersey across a wide range of private client and business…

ELISABETTA QUARANTA

ELISABETTA QUARANTA


Elisabetta completed her LLB in Law via long distance learning with Nottingham Trent University in…

Freya Brennand

FREYA BRENNAND


Freya has started her career with Benest & Syvret within the private client team dealing with Wills, LPAs and Estates.



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