If your affairs would benefit from professional advice, we can help with Will drafting, as well as obtaining Grants of Probate and administering estates after people have died.

As we are members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) who prepare Wills in England and Wales, we are bound by the STEP Code for Will Preparation.

We offer advice on any Probate matter be it complicated or simple and whether you simply require us to apply for the Grant on your behalf or require us to deal with the full administration of the estate or something in between.

We can guide you through the process of choosing an attorney and applying for and registering your Lasting Power of Attorney ( LPA ) both Property and Financial and Health and Welfare with the Office of the Public Guardian.

If an individual has not made Lasting Powers of Attorney and they become unable to manage their own affairs or make decisions about their finance and property and/or health and welfare, then an application will need to be made to the Court of Protection to manage their affairs.

We can guide you through every step of the way in making an application to the Court of Protection.

A trust deed is a legal document setting out an arrangement which transfers property, including shares and money, to trustees or a trust company to administer for the benefit of those named in the deed or Will. Trusts can be set up during a person's lifetime or after death through a person's Will. This can be a great way of managing and protecting assets now to minimise inheritance tax on death.

Trusts can be drafted to allow you, as settlor, to retain some degree of control over the assets or capital within it.

We have considerable experience in Trust planning and would welcome the chance to discuss your needs.

To be valid in the UK, a charitable trust must do two things: benefit the public and have a charitable purpose. "Benefit the public" means simply that the trust cannot be operated for the advantage of a private person or group of private people. "Charitable purposes" are many and varied, but some of the most common accepted purposes include:

• Relieving poverty
• Promoting education
• Promoting religion
• Helping animals
• Any number of other uses that benefit the community

ASL Chartwell can advise clients on the requirements, benefits and drawbacks of establishing trusts of any kind. Whether you want to contribute one lump sum to a trust or plan to give regularly to a number of causes, we have the expertise necessary to help you achieve your charitable goals.