We had a technical glitch and lost the ability to get back in touch.  If this is you, please contact us directly on info@yonderlife.co.uk. We'd like to chat things through with you.

My wife( 65 years old) has got short term memory loss. The alarm bell rang when she couldn’t remember if she had her Covid jab or not. She has had brain scans but they only reveal “normal wear and tear” ( the doctors words). I feel stressed because I don’t know how to help her for the best.

You have both done the right thing in arranging for your GP to undertake tests. As we all know this is a routine request, that is increasing in need. This part seems positive.

The fact that you are worried and can see differences in your wife's memory is naturally of concern.  Being told that this is normal wear and tear for someone of 65 years seems more medical than practical in terms of diagnosis. You could either look towards a second opinion or take some comfort in that.

Our minds are wonderfully complex and need exercising.  As with all things involving mental health, positively interacting with family members, surrounding yourself with people who add positively to your life, having a good work/life balance, getting out into nature, looking after a pet, taking up a fun hobby and learning something new can all help.

Age UK have published the following information:

Brain exercises: How to keep your brain active | Age UK

Many would say keeping the mind active is the best way to keep thinking skills sharp. But is this true? Dr Alan Gow looks at the evidence. Read more at Age UK.

Age UK

I know that I need some legal help but don’t where to go. I suppose I am looking for support and advice for me really.

This is a slightly different matter, however just as important. Your first step is to discuss through your concerns and requirements with a legal professional. Everyone is concerned about the cost of legal advice which should be published on a legal firm's website or alternatively be clearly explained when arranging a initial consultation. Good legal advice will however cost money.

Our question to you is more personal.  Are you looking for legal advice in the context of financial planning and your will, or are you looking for support in how to progress your lives together at such an emotionally intensive time?

We want to help with a challenge that our family is meeting.  My name is James and this is my mum, Lynne.

Between five and six years ago we noticed mum was experiencing some memory issues.  At her 70th birthday she had forgotten the death of an extended family member.  This was the prompt for us as a family to make the decision to intervene in mum's life and make an appointment with her GP.

This blog is about our family's journey.  We have experienced upset, denial and anger along with a togetherness that, whilst straining sibling relationships, has brought us all closer together.

Mum is well and still has a part of her sense of humour in tact.

We will be sharing our experiences with healthcare, solicitors, banks, social services, care providers, charities along with the police, vets and our wider family.

This is an introduction to a forthcoming series of blogs.  If you recognise our story, have one to share or simply would like a conversation, please reach out to us.

You can use Yonderlife or a loved one can use Yonderlife for you.

You may be an IT whizz or perhaps unsure of computers. Either way, we believe that you have memories that you want to share, a life to pass on, affairs to deal with and assets to consider.

You can get someone else to help you.

Yonderlife creates estates for individuals, which may be yourself or someone else. Click on the link below to sign up for free.

It is really easy to create one either for yourself or someone else. Then you can add multiple estates and access them in one place.

All estates are private and only accessed with those you want, whether that's a family member, solicitor, accountant or trusted other.

• We want you to create your legacy either yourself or with the help of someone trusted by you.

• We want to help with the challenges around Alzheimers or Dementia where loved ones can create a legacy for those struggling with capacity.

• We want to help executors, who need to obtain grant of probate and administer a deceased estate to the best their abilities.  

Technology may not be your strong point, but you want the best for your family. This is not a problem.

You may be a nominated executor or a concerned family member.  You may be starting to understand what needs to happen when someone has died or well underway a process that can take years.

It does not matter which stage you are at. Dealing with a bereavement is difficult. We are here to help.

Yonderlife is a task list, a reminder, a delegator, a note book and a team builder.

You may be working with a probate solicitor, undertaking a DIY probate or considering your options.

You may want to understand what you are being charged for and why elements of the process seem to take time.

Yonderlife is a valuation tool, enabling you to efficiently calculate an estate value at the time of death.

Yonderlife lists all affairs of the deceased. This is critical to close all accounts relating to the deceased's life.

Everyone has more accounts, subscriptions, memberships and hobbies than they realise.  When you consider email accounts, streaming services and social media the list of accounts becomes very detailed.

You create a file to organise your valuations, correspondence, paperwork, interactions and responsibilities which is easily shared.

In doing so, you save money and create a demonstrable audit file.

We are a team of four, two couples behind Yonderlife.

We all have experience in what to do when someone dies, from valuing items, selling possessions, managing relationships with probate solicitors and other professional services, to building software and selling probate properties.

We have spent a lot of our professional lives dealing with the practicalities surrounding a bereavement. However it is the personal feelings generated by sitting with a widowed wife from over fifty years of marriage or the shredding of unwanted wedding photos from deceased estates due to data protection legislation that formed the basis of our thinking.

Peoples' lives are greater than the sum of its parts, and more often than not are worth more than the contents of a will.

Our aim is to help people when someone has died, to compliment their will and to enable their legacy to live on.

We are in different personal circumstances. On one side we are dealing with a parent with Alzheimers and want a solution to help our family with this cruel challenge. On the other side a wonderful new addition to a family, where we want to protect the new family unit should the very worst happen.

We believe that getting your affairs in order is an important step towards helping those you love deal with bereavement.  You may have many happy years ahead of you, be caring for a loved one or unfortunately be dealing with a death. Either way Yonderlife is designed to help you.

Yonderlife is a business, with a pay service for great software that is value for money. We are also a community. A freely available resource for anyone looking for help when someone has died.

As the four of us move forward with our lives from PhD's, to estate agency to developing software, we would appreciate hearing from you about how you can use Yonderlife. We want to evolve for our customers and hear from anyone who can help when someone has died.

Yonderlife is all about what to do when someone dies.

What to do when someone dies. How to protect your family, save money and be better prepared.

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

How our guest blogs work

We do not take money or referral fees from guest blogs on our community pages.

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You need to report the value of a deceased estate to HMRC in order to obtain grant of representation.  This is where any inheritance tax liabilities are calculated and due.

If there is a will you would be applying for grant of probate, if there is no will you would be applying for a grant of letters of administration.

Take legal advice if you are unsure in any way.  Probate solicitors are able to assist in Inheritance Tax liabilities, along with gaining the grant of representation and administering a deceased estate.

The estimated value of the deceased estate defines how to report to HMRC.

You’ll need to complete either form IHT205 if you do not need to pay inheritance tax or form IHT400 if tax is due.

If your estimated estate value is less than £325,000, you can report your form IHT205 online to HMRC here:

Where was the permanent home of the person who has died? - GOV.UK

GOV.UK

A paper version is available here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/459092/IHT205_2011_.pdf

There is an alert on the download re-asserting the need to fill out form IHT400 if the estate is not an excepted estate.

If the gross value of the estate for Inheritance Tax purposes:
a. exceeds £1 million or
b. exceeds the nil rate band but is below £1 million and no charity or spouse or civil partnership exemptions or transfer of unused nil rate band apply
then the estate is not an excepted estate.

Form IHT205 (2011) Return of estate information is an 8 page pdf with the following headings:

• When to use this form
• Notes
• Help
• Your rights and obligations
• About the person who has died
• About the estate
• About the estate (continued)
• Deceased assets at the date of death
• Deceased assets at the date of death (continued)
• Deceased assets at the date of death (continued)
• Deceased assets at the date of death (continued)
• Deceased assets at the date of death (continued)
• declaration

Notes to help you fill in form IHT205 (2011) can be downloaded here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/910270/IHT206_2020.pdf

If the estimated value of the deceased estate is between £325,000 and £1,000,000, you may need to submit form IHT400:

You may need to use a different form - GOV.UK

GOV.UK

Inheritance Tax account (IHT400)

Apply for probate or confirmation if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay, or if the deceased’s estate does not qualify as an ‘excepted estate’.

GOV.UKHM Revenue & Customs

Form IHT400 Inheritance tax account is a 16 page PDF that loads with the following alert:

If you've already got a 15 digit reference number from the online service do not use this on the form IHT400. If there's any Inheritance Tax to pay, you should obtain the correct reference number by applying online at www.gov.uk/paying-inheritance-tax. You don't need to apply for a reference number if there's no Inheritance Tax to pay.

Each page has boxes to complete.  Page 1 has notes relating to the following:

• When to use this form
• The Inheritance Tax account
• Inheritance Tax reference number
• Filling in this form
• If you need help

Form IHT400 Inheritance Tax account has the following headings:

• About the deceased
• If the deceased was domiciled in Scotland at the date of death
• Deceased's details
• Contact details of the person dealing with the estate
• Deceased's will
• Items referred to in the will but not included in the estate
• What makes up your Inheritance Tax account - schedules
• What makes up your Inheritance Tax account - schedules (continued)
• Estate in the UK
• Estate in the UK (continued)
• Deductions from the estate in the UK incurred up to the date of death
• Deductions from the estate in the UK (continued)
• Exemptions and reliefs
• Exemptions and reliefs (continued)
• Other assets taken into account to calculate the tax
• Working out the Inheritance Tax
• simple Inheritance Tax calculation
• Direct payment scheme
• Declaration
• Declaration (continued)
• Checklist
• Return addresses and contact details
• Additional information

Form IHT400 can be downloaded here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/935333/IHT400-092020_English.pdf

Guide to completing your inheritance tax account:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/995625/IHT400Notes-07-20v0.4.pdf

Inheritance tax account IHT400 calculation:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/851254/IHT400_Calculation_101219.pdf

Inheritance Tax nil rate bands, limits and rates (IHT400 rates and tables):

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/734665/IHT400_rates_and_tables.pdf

Working out the interest on Inheritance Tax payments (IHT400 Helpsheet):

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/734666/IHT400_Helpsheet.pdf

Accessible formats are also available.

If the estimated value is greater than £1,000,000 you will need to fill out form IHT400.

Deadline for form IHT400

You must send this form to HMRC within 12 months of the date of death. Interest will be payable after 6 months

HMRC publish a charter regarding service and standards between you and them here:

HMRC Charter

This Charter explains what you can expect from us and what we expect from you.

GOV.UKHM Revenue & Customs

Firstly, we are sorry to hear about your loss.

We hope that things are moving forward at a pace that suits you. You may have already had the funeral, are perhaps awaiting grant of probate or helping administer the estate.

You will be aware that the process from obtaining the medical certificate to final sign off of the deceased's estate can take many months, if not years.

Our executor tools cover three milestones; the funeral, obtaining grant of probate and administering the estate.

If you are using the services of a probate solicitor we can help you be better informed of the process and understand exactly what steps you are being charged for.

If you are undertaking the process yourself, our services are invaluable in understanding what you need to do.

What tasks do i need to complete for probate?

Yonderlife helps you deal with the funeral, obtaining grant of probate and administering the deceased estate.

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

How to value a deceased estate

Advice on valuing a deceased estate at the time of death.

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Selling property

Probate properties are highly sought after. Be better informed of your options.

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

We think it is fair to say that nobody wants to dwell on their inevitable demise.

We think that being better prepared with your life, your affairs and your memories will help those dealing with your estate.  Organising a funeral, obtaining grant of probate and administering an estate is expensive and time-consuming.  

Your loved ones will have the emotions surrounding grief to deal with, so why not give them a helping hand?

Yonderlife supplies tools to assist in the financial, legal, practical and emotional considerations when dealing with bereavement.  

To enable this, we offer tools which prepares your estate to hand over to your loved ones.

• You may want to organise your funeral, your way.
• You may want to nominate and inform your executors
• You may want to upload a copy of your will
• You may want to list all your financial accounts
• You may want to list and value all your assets
• You may want to list all your social media and digital accounts
• You may want to share your memories with friends and family

We live in an increasingly complicated digital world.  We believe it is important to secure your digital legacy.

Yonderlife is all about what to do when someone dies.

What to do when someone dies. How to protect your family, save money and be better prepared.

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How to help your executors

Unfortunately there is always a lot to do on a death. This is outside of what really matters; dealing with bereavement. By using Yonderlife, you ensure that your affairs are passed on as you want to those most trusted by you. There is a seamless transition from personal to executor

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

How to share your legacy

Whether you believe sharing is caring of that it is all about the money, Yonderlife is here for you. You do not need a will to use Yonderlife. You do not need to upload one. In fact you do not need to share your legacy at all. We would simply

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How to manage accounts

As with everything in Yonderlife, managing your accounts is straightforward. Let’s keep your identity safe and only enable your loved ones and those most trusted by you to protect your estate. Keep your passwords to yourself please.This is about empowering your loved ones to act in the event of

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

How to leave wishes

Your life is not the sum of what you own, but how you have live it. Use your Yonderlife account to keep your wishes updated as your life grows. Unfortunately, once you have died, there can be a pre-occupation about money. But so many things are more important. It’s all

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

How to list what you own

There is nothing complex with Yonderlife. When you die your estate will be valued to obtain grant of probate and see if any inheritance tax is due. Use your Yonderlife account to list your assets. It’s as simple as 1.2.3. This is your place to let your loved

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

How to share memories.

How to share memories in Yonderlife.

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You may be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn or Google. Perhaps you have Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime.  You may use email or WhatsApp.  You may have a mobile phone, landline, gas account, electricity account or Council Tax account.  The likelihood is that you have a digital footprint.

These need to be dealt with when you die.  All organisations need to be informed of your death and many need to close your accounts to protect your identity even in death.

This is a job for your executor and where Yonderlife comes in.

What tasks do i need to complete for probate?

Yonderlife helps you deal with the funeral, obtaining grant of probate and administering the deceased estate.

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

All these accounts will change over time.  Perhaps you will change service providers to get a better deal or simply close accounts.  This is where Yonderlife helps.

Simply log in and keep your affairs up to date.

How to manage accounts

As with everything in Yonderlife, managing your accounts is straightforward. Let’s keep your identity safe and only enable your loved ones and those most trusted by you to protect your estate. Keep your passwords to yourself please.This is about empowering your loved ones to act in the event of

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

If you give it some thought, you probably have far more accounts than you think.  

Arkade Property was created 20 years ago with the aim of providing an ethical, knowledgeable and proactive residential and commercial property sales and lettings agency.

One of the founding directors, Andrew Kay, practised in the law for 15 years where he specialised in property conveyancing. In that role he also undertook probate work and this knowledge has been transferred to Arkade Property who now has a caring and highly competent department specialising in probate sales and ancillary matters. The other founding director, Beatriz Rose, has retired but her daughter, Sybilla, has stepped into her shoes and now manages the company and drives it forward, ensuring that the highest standards of honesty, integrity and transparency are always maintained.

The board of Arkade Property is completed by James Clapham, our Head of Sales who has a vast knowledge of probate sales and is always delighted to share his knowledge with anyone requiring advice and assistance in this field and Carol McEntee who has worked in property sales and lettings for over 25 years and heads our Longbridge Office covering the south and west of the Birmingham conurbation.

There is always an open invitation to call any one of our specialists to discuss any concerns or difficulties you may be having with property generally or property within a deceased estate specifically – Arkade Property has the expertise and we would be happy to help in any way we can. Call 0121 212 3044.

About Us - Arkade Property

After over a decade in business we now have an extensive portfolio of properties and a dedicated team of staff who can offer help and advice on the legal, practical and financial aspects of letting, buying and selling property.

Arkade PropertyArkade Property

How our guest blogs work

We do not take money or referral fees from guest blogs on our community pages.

Yonderlife CommunityYonderlife

Yonderlife is complementary to your will. You don't need a will to use Yonderlife, but why don't you have one?  Your will is your legal protection.  It is fundamental.  Your executors will need to submit your original will to the Government to obtain grant of probate along with various other forms and a valuation of your estate.  Your estate may have tax liabilities.

It's always a copy in Yonderlife.  The original will either be in paper format with you, your solicitor or in a storage service.  

Where's the original?  We think it is of use to consider now how much your solicitor is going to charge your estate in the event of your death?  If in doubt just get in touch with us.

By uploading a copy of your will to your Yonderlife account, you can leave instructions of where to find the original and also share its contents with loved ones and trusted others.  This will help them understand exactly what you wanted, answer any questions whilst you are still with us, and maybe iron out any tricky issues

The best format to upload a copy of your will is as a PDF.  You can either use the Adobe Acrobat family to manage your file or search for a free online tool.

If you are working with a paper copy you can look to scan the document, however why not make life easy for yourself and take a picture of each page with your phone?

The free online tools you have just searched for will collate any photos or scans and create your PDF copy.

Once back in Yonderlife, simply click on 'Manage Estate' and upload your file.

Yonderlife is all about what to do when someone dies.

Your memories are possibly the most precious thing about your life.   As such, we want your life to be remembered and passed on.

You will have touched many peoples' lives. You may already be guardians of previous lives for great grandparents, grandparents or wider family members.

We want you to share such things with friends and family and ensure that these memories live on.  We do this by grouping images into albums and allowing albums to be shared.

How do Yonderlife memories work?

1. Create an album
2. Add photos
3. Choose to share

You can share by email to designated email addresses, by social channels or via WhatsApp groups.

All contents of that album are available on a public link where you can invite comments.

You may not want to share any or some of your albums.  This way, only those invited to your estate will have secure access.  You can leave instructions of how you would like your albums distributed in the event of your death.

By sharing your life, your memories or those important pieces of family history you ensure that they can be downloaded and passed on.

Let's help make your life a celebration.

There is more to bereavement than probate.

There can be a pre-occupation with money when someone has died. Family issues can become amplified, and a focus on money can sometimes be used to not deal with the actual bereavement and loss itself.

Fortunately, the practicalities and processes around obtaining probate and administering an estate are a well-trodden path.

There are three practical milestones to reach: the funeral, obtaining grant of probate and administering the estate.  Once these practicalities have been dealt with, the process of grieving can hopefully enter its final stages.

Yonderlife is a tool that organises each milestone, enable you to share the burden and in doing so you can consider which of the practical tasks you can undertake, thus saving money on professional services.

Good probate solicitors will provide a quote for their services, priced as either a fixed fee, percentage of the value of the estate, hourly rate or mixture of all three.  

It is impossible for a probate solicitor to quote entirely for probate or estate administration from the outset as they will be unsure of the scope of work and any potential issues that may arrive.

By using Yonderlife you can be better informed of the probate process and the practicalities of administering an estate and undertake many of the tasks yourself.  By informing the probate solicitor of this, you can come to a mutually agreed price for any further legal services.

Hourly rates for probate solicitors start around £150 + VAT per hour for a junior member of staff.

Alternatively, you may take the decision to do-it-yourself.

Either way, Yonderlife will save you money.

There will be valuations to gain, forms to fill,  letters to write, phone calls to make, people to meet, keys to exchange, property to secure, items to move, pets to re-home, responses to chase, money to safeguard and most importantly personal, intimate matters to deal with.

Yonderlife is your tool to manage this.

Whether you have a will or not we help you:

• Protect your family
• Save money
• Be better prepared

It's a simple solution for a complex issue that eventually affects us all.  You do not need to have a will to use Yonderlife.

We want you to leave a legacy that defines who you are.

It's a about defining who you are and ensuring that your legacy reflects this.

Save and share wishes:  It's all about what you want.

No need for legal talk.  Say what you feel.

Tell your people, your loved ones and those most trusted by you what you want.

Be creative!

Value your assets:  Tell your loved ones exactly what you own.

You may own a house, two houses perhaps? You probably own a car and would like that masterpiece in your cellar to be reality.  You'll have Grandma's jewellery and probably Dad's watch.  You may have a classic lego collection or a vintage motorbike.

To be honest, it does not matter what you own.  What matters is that your family understands what is important to you.

It may be of financial or more simply sentimental value to you.

Either way, your estate will need to be valued on your death.

List your accounts:  Keep your data safe.

It's a digital world.  We all seem to have an ever-increasing list of online accounts. These may well change every year.

Bank accounts, savings accounts, investment accounts, credit cards, loan accounts, mortgages, car credit accounts, house and contents insurance, life insurance, funeral insurance, utility accounts, council tax, pension, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn, gaming accounts, trading accounts, the National Trust, any charitable donations, yoga and kids activities to name a standard few.

Don't keep your loved ones in the dark.  Enable them to access your life and most importantly obtain control when they need to.

Share:  Your loved ones need to understand your affairs.

This should not be difficult to understand.  Otherwise, what's the point?

You don't need to share everything straightaway, and it's easy to change who you want to share with.

However, let's not have a disagreement over your will when you are dead. Nobody wants a broken legacy.

Worst still, contention in the family.  Only litigators will win here, with less money for the family.

We presume, you are doing all this for them.

Be positive.  Share what your life is.  The little things matter.

Update: Things happen, life goes on, keep on top of your life's changes.

Log in at any time.  Update as you see fit at no extra costs.  Let's hope you are going to be fit and able for decades to come.

It's a one-off fee for this very reason.

Always free to update and change as you grow.

Helping hand: If the worst happens, help your executors.

And finally, if the worst happens, you get peace of mind knowing that your most trusted people understand your life, your affairs and your estate at no extra cost.

In doing so, you reduce legal costs and help your people when they perhaps need you the most.

By using Yonderlife, your most trusted people will have help organising your funeral, obtaining grant of probate and administering your estate.

So, let's go back to that all-important will.  This is your legal protection for your estate.  If you do not have a copy to upload to your Yonderlife personal account, we would like to know why not?

Unfortunately there is always a lot to do on a death.

This is outside of what really matters; dealing with bereavement.

By using Yonderlife, you ensure that your affairs are passed on as you want to those most trusted by you.

There is a seamless transition from personal to executor account.

There is no additional cost to your trusted people and loved ones.

Those you have shared with can use Yonderlife to help organise your funeral, obtain grant of probate and administer your affairs.