ABOUT US & OTHER SERVICES
C. J. H. Consultancy Services Limited
As an established firm specialising in Wills, Estate Planning and Business Succession, we work closely with affinity groups and professional advisers throughout the Home Counties to ensure that individuals and businesses are fully informed about the impact of new legislation and how best to protect themselves. Our Consultants will visit you in the comfort of your own home or office, and our fees are clearly stated and only payable when we take your Instructions.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
Good Will & Estate Planning often makes all the difference between achieving security or suffering financial hardship, yet such advice can often seem complex and difficult to follow. Working with your existing advisers as appropriate, we will provide you with clear, commonsense guidance that will help you to understand your options.
Our fees are clear and agreed at the outset, and if you are in business or self-employed, can be treated as a deductible business expense.
Our activities are regulated by the Society of Will Writers & Estate Planning Paractitioners and your interests protected by comprehensive Professional Indemnity Insurance.
Whatever your circumstances, it is vital to establish Lasting Powers of Attorney, appointing people you trust to manage your financial affairs during your lifetime in case, due to sickness or accident, you become unable to do so yourself. If you are in business, it is important to take similar precautions with regard to your commercial affairs as well.
A Life Policy Trust can also be a useful tool to ensure that your life assurance policies are held outside your Estate, thus reducing your liability to tax and enabling the policy proceeds to be paid directly to your beneficiaries without the costs and delays of Probate.
Finally, it is vital to ensure that your important documents are safe and readily available, and to ensure that the right people know where they are and how to retrieve them, so we offer our Clients an insured, third party Document Storage facility, and will also write to your Executors, Attorneys or family members as appropriate.
Call us today for no a obligation quote on 0845 895 9455 or email us at cjh@cjhconsultancy.co.uk
SAFEGUARDING YOUR HOME:
Preserving the value of the family home from hostile creditors is also important. If you should need Long Term Residential or Nursing Care, and your assets exceed £21,500, the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 allows for your home to be used by the Local Authority to meet the costs associated with providing that Care.
By changing the way in which you own your home, the possibility of a future creditor being able to make a successful claim against this valuable asset can be greatly reduced.
Options can range from a simple change to Tenants in Common to transferring your home into a full Property Trust, which also reduces the cost of Probate later. (Contact us for further details regarding Property Trusts, especially if you are in business and wish to separate your business and personal assets.)
Similar measures can also protect Equities and other assets so that your children and other beneficiaries can inherit as planned. It is important to note that, whilst pre-emptive planning is acceptable, such measures 
cannot be established where the motive is clearly to frustrate the attempts of legitimate creditors.
We have close ties with a leading Conveyancing firm, so can easily arrange the purchase or sale of your property at most competitive rates. We work very closely with the Solicitor appointed and ensure that your property is registered correctly in conjunction with any estate planning that we are arranging at that time
QUICK LINKS:
HOW CAN WE HELP? | MORE INFORMATION | ADVANCE
DIRECTIVES BUSINESS HEALTHCHECKS | SAFEGUARDING YOUR HOME
Please contact us now for a NO OBLIGATION discussion to assess your individual circumstances >>
Further information
For more information please select a free e-leaflet from the list below and we will e-mail it to you.
- Why make a Will? - our Estate Planning Guide
- Safeguarding your home against creditors – the best way to own your home together
- The Nil Rate Band Trust and how you can save up to £124,800
- Guides for Executors, Attorneys and Probate and Guidance Notes following Bereavement.
- The Civil Partnership Act
- Advance Directives ("Living Wills")
- Business Healthcheck and Succession Planning
- Conveyancing and Property Purchase or Sale
Whatever your situation and concerns, we can help you to use the Law to your advantage.
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
"Living Wills"
One never knows when an
unfortunate accident or
illness might arise.
Many people feel it’s important to ensure that their wishes about medical treatment are recorded in advance, as this would make things much easier for their next of kin in the event of an emergency.
If this is important to you, please contact us now.
An Advance Directive can be easily set up over the telephone, there are no forms to complete, you simply need to give us your full contact details and we will then send you a completed document for your signature.
If you require an e-leaflet version of any of these web pages, please request this when contacting us for further information.
BUSINESS HEALTHCHECKS
Of course, every business should be up to date with current legislation and have the right legal paperwork in place - but you’d be amazed how few actually do, and the consequences can be disastrous! Please contact us if you would like a review of your business and an initial, no-obligation report that will identify your business’s strengths and weaknesses and suggest simple measures to improve your position. We will maintain strict confidentiality with regard to all information that you supply to us.
ARE YOU IN BUSINESS?
If so, you will already know that, in the face of increasing business and employment legislation, protecting your business has never been more important. Despite this, surveys show that 9 out of 10 businesses in the U.K. do not have the fundamental legal documentation in place and the small to medium business sector is especially at risk.
Why is this? Well, one reason is that smaller businesses are less likely to be able to benefit from specialist guidance. Most general accountancy firms, for example, tend to concentrate on book-keeping and the audit rather than offering wider, strategic advice, whilst the fees charged by more specialist business advisers are often prohibitive. Consequently, the majority of business owners – whether they know it or not – are left seriously exposed. Furthermore, very few have made realistic, and realisable plans for their profitable retirement.
Don’t let this be you! If you are running a business, you should be able to answer the following questions, as appropriate to your own circumstances:
- What would happen if a co-director / partner contracted a critical illness… or died? Might your colleague’s new spouse be your future business partner?;
- Is there a legal agreement covering the transfer / sale of your Company Shares? How would you ensure that your family got a fair price for your stake?;
- What is your exit strategy from your business? What happens when you decide to leave; who will take over?; how will your portion be valued?; can you actually afford to stop working?
NEW BUSINESSES
If you’re setting up a new venture we can help here too, forming your new Company and providing all the other paperwork you need to run a strong and legal business. A full Company Secretarial service is also available, if required.
Finally, all businesses, large or small, should take professional advice on establishing a BS25999-compliant Business Continuity Plan, providing you with a realistic and workable disaster recovery strategy if things go wrong. This will greatly increase your chance of business survival.
Whatever your position, we can provide you with a detailed Business Healthcheck that will assess your strengths and weaknesses and show you how to fully protect your position and your livelihood, leaving you free to concentrate upon running your business.
Contact us now to discuss the best course of action in your individual circumstances.