Lodge Brothers funeral services is always here to help. We know how unpredictable life can be on a daily basis and that things happen when you least expect it. This is why we make ourselves available at any time on any day, by phone or email. With 533,253 deaths in Wales and the UK in 2017. The office of National statistics shows that the provisional number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 31 August 2018 was 7,865. Yourmoney.com reports that “Around 60% of UK adults still haven’t made a will, according to new research from Unbiased.co.uk, leaving around 31 million people at risk of dying intestate. If you die without a will your estate will be distributed solely according to intestacy law, which may not reflect your wishes.”

Karen Barrett, CEO and founder of Unbiased, said “It’s clear that many people think they’re just not ‘rich enough’ to need a will. This ignores the fact that a will makes inheritance a far quicker process – do they really want to keep their loved ones waiting longer, when that money might be badly needed? It also doesn’t take into account the complexity of modern families, which intestacy law simply doesn’t address. Children from previous marriages could end up receiving nothing at all.”
At Lodge Brothers, we agree that this is the essential issue surrounding those who pass away without a will and encourage customers who we meet on a daily basis, not to find themselves in the same position as their loved ones who have gone before them. The financial consequences when a loved one dies affects the whole family and especially when there is a young family involved, this can have lasting and irreversible long-lasting effects on the family unit and extended family members. While you may not feel that you are rich enough to have a will, consider what the effects would be on your family should they have to love just one month or one week if you are a weekly paid individual.
At Lodge Brothers we have options to suit every pocket and take pride in extending a helping hand to our hundreds of clients in our local areas. You can find our offices in your local areas simply by visiting our website and searching by location. You will find that we have offices in all locations and we offer additional probate services. For example, should you be looking for probate in Chertsey, Ham or Guildford, simply search probate Chertsey, probate Ham or probate Guildford to find your local branch and contact telephone number or email address. Otherwise you can go to our branch locator search feature, capture your nearest branch, town name of post code, for ease of access to information concerning all services we offer. If you’d like to know a little more about our services, we can send our ‘Guide to Arranging A Funeral’ to your home, or you can view and download a PDF. Click here to obtain.

Preparing a will for when you pass away is one of the most important things that you can do with your life, or so we have all heard… but is it really true that not having a will is going to cause problems for those you leave behind? Or is this just another fear-based threat designed to get us to jump into action and act by paying someone else to do our will for us, when in fact we could either do it ourselves or leave it all together? After all, there are rules in place which must be followed when we die, to ensure that the possessions we gather in life, are distributed amongst the family we leave behind. Why is the threat of not having a will shrouded in so many layers of alarming outcomes for those who are affected?

The fact is that there absolutely are rules which govern the passing of assets on to family once a person has deceased. These rules are fairly straight forward and not at all difficult to apply because as with everything based in the law, there is little to no room for personal interpretation nor much capacity for a person to manipulate the rules. And it does not necessarily require an attorney’s degree to construct a simple will which is easy to understand and follow in order to ensure that the assets are distributed as they were intended to be among the family members.

However what if a person has a complicated or unknown scenario which only comes to light once the person has passed and they have not prepared a will? Or have prepared a Will which for some reason or another, such as it not being correctly witnessed, is invalid in the eyes of the law? The estate immediately considered as being intestate. Once a person’s possessions are intestate, the rules of intestacy apply. If that is the case then only married or civil partners, children and close relatives stand to benefit from the inheritance. The primary beneficiary is considered to be the husband, wife or civil partner (note: a civil partner differs from a “common law” partner).

Intestacy laws are there for substantially limiting and possibilities in life are infinite meaning that there are more scenarios under which a person may pass away, which cannot be covered by the rules governing wills. What is a parent has passed without a valid will and has 2 children, one estranged for decades and one who cared for that parent right throughout their life, up until they reached their death-bed, leaving that child cash-strapped due to the high costs of care and medicines, for the parent. By intestate law, both siblings would stand to inherit the estate equally and this is something, while difficult, that the parent would not necessarily want.

Wills can be drawn up quickly and inexpensively at any of our Wills Chertsey, Wills Guildford and Wills Ham offices of Lodge Brothers. Inquire today regarding your unique requirements for your will to ensure that your family members benefit properly from the distribution of your possessions and assets on your passing.

Welcome to the offices of Lodge Brothers Legal Services where our long-standing professional reputation, sustained by our consistently proficient services, guarantees our clients and their families ultimate peace of mind. Lodge Brothers has been assisting families with funerals for over 230 years and it is our personal service which our clients have come to rely on over and above the consistently high levels of quality of legal advice which we provide. Our clients can turn to us for accessible and affordable legal advice in relation to Probate, Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

At Lodge Brothers we approach our Probate Walton on Thames services with the same high levels of quality advice and personal investment, as we do with all legal services. We know that when a person finds themselves in need of the services of a Legal firm, often the circumstances which surround this need, are inevitably highly stressful. When people find themselves in these stressful situations, quite often it becomes exacerbated by the fact that one doesn’t always know what to do for the best and make the right decisions.

Notwithstanding, often people do not know what needs to be taken care of, simply because they do not have experience with being in these types of situations previously. It is easy to understand how over-whelming certain life events can be, when someone realises all of the legal requirements involved. Legal compliance is not something that we believe a person should have to face on their own.

That’s why we partner with our clients during these times of excessive strain and guide them through the process. Lodge Brothers has firms across the UK, such as our Probate Weybridge office and its here that you can rest assured that you will always find empathetic professionals to offer you an efficient service when you most need it.

Probate is the process of authenticating a last will and testament and finalising all aspects of the estate of a deceased individual and at Lodge Brothers Probate Guilford, we offer 3 levels of Probate service to suit your personal requirements.  Regardless of which level of legal service you choose, you can be assured that you are receiving the very best especially if you chose our level 3 Gold Probate Service which comes highly recommended and is certainly the most comprehensive of all. Designed to relieve you of the heavy burden you face when dealing with the probate process, our level 3 Gold Probate services ensure that probate is obtained quickly and efficiently.

Lodge Brothers have been assisting the community with funerals for over 230 years offering a professional and personal service that their clients have come to rely on. Lodge Brothers legal arm of the business has helped hundreds of families with accessible, affordable legal advice in relation to Probate, Wills Twickenham and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

They have a highly qualified, strong legal team whom collectively have many years of experience in all aspect of Probate, Wills Ashford and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

MEET SOPHIE ANDREWS – DIRECTOR

Sophie joined Lodge Brothers as Head of Legal Services in 2016 to develop and set up its legal services business. Lodge Brothers Legal Services is a separate company, which has been granted a licence by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, allowing Lodge Brothers Legal Services to provide professional Legal Services to its clients through its own legal team.

Sophie grew up in Surrey and studied law at University College London and the College of Law in Guildford qualifying as a Solicitor in 1997. Having trained at a leading Private Client Firm, Charles Russell, Sophie has specialised in Wills, Probate and Powers of Attorney and now has many years of experience in these areas. She is an affiliate member of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and holds the Advanced Certificate in Will Preparation (passing with a distinction). Sophie lives in Surrey with her husband and three children.

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING AN UP TO DATE WILL?

Only 30% of people in this country have made a Will. This is because we do not like thinking about death and we are unaware of the importance of having a professionally drafted Will. Once a person overcomes their fears and makes a Will they find that it is a positive step that gives them great peace of mind. They are reassured that their affairs are in order.

If you die without a Will you die “intestate” meaning the intestacy laws set out which of your family members inherit and the amount. Your spouse will not necessarily inherit all of your estate and if you are unmarried your Partner will not inherit anything.

A legally valid Will, carefully prepared by a qualified expert Solicitor, will ensure that:

you provide for your loved ones in the way you wish;

you choose the Executors who will administer your estate;

you choose the Guardians for your minor children; and

you can take steps to reduce the Inheritance Tax payable.

You can also choose to appoint Lodge Brothers Legal Services as the Executors of your Will. We will ensure that your estate is dealt with promptly and efficiently so that your loved ones do not have the responsibility but do receive their inheritance as quickly as possible.

Fixed fee for a single Will starting from £325 +VAT (£390 inc. VAT).

Fixed fee for mirror Wills starting from £500 +VAT (£600 inc. VAT).

All our fees are fixed and agreed in advance.

Our professional services offer peace of mind to you and your family.

If you don’t have an up to date will click here Wills Feltham and Lodge Brothers Legal Services will assist you.

Lodge Brothers Legal Services provide a free no obligation quote or initial advice.  With over 200 years experience their legal services are sought after. They offer many services one being Probate attorney and Will Writers. Below they explain why its so important to have a will and how they can assit.

Probate Attorney London

When a family member or loved one dies, dealing with estate administration is often the last thing on a person’s mind. We offer an efficient, professional and above all personal service to make your life easier at such a distressing time.

When a person dies leaving a valid Will, the appointed Executors need to apply for a Grant of Probate to administer the Deceased’s estate. If there is no Will, the laws of intestacy apply and the law sets out which family member is entitled to apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration and administer the estate.

The process of administering an estate is commonly known as probate and involves:

• ascertaining the value of the Deceased’s assets and liabilities;
• dealing with the Inland Revenue Inheritance Tax return;
• preparing the probate papers;
• applying to the Probate Registry for the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration; and
• collecting in the assets of the estate and settling the liabilities once the Grant is received.

Probate will be required to sell or transfer a house, sell or transfer shares and in most cases to close bank accounts. The assistance required by the Executors will depend on the finances of the Deceased, the terms of the Will, the family circumstances and how much work the Executors are willing or able to do.

OUR PROBATE SERVICES

Lodge Brothers Legal Services offer 3 levels of service to suit your requirements.

Planning your own funeral or memorial service can provide peace-of-mind to you and your family.

Lodge Brothers know that losing a loved one can often become a financial burden, but we also know that a dignified send-off is needed to honour the person’s life.

With a Lodge Brothers funeral plans Surbiton, you can rest assured that all will be taken care of when it comes time to say goodbye to a loved one. With Lodge Brothers range of Funeral Plans Cobham to choose from, you will find one best suited to your individual needs.

Planning a funeral can be daunting and Lodge Brothers professional, empathic staff will assist every step of the way. Planning a funeral allows you to ease the burden off your loved ones and plan the way you would like to be remembered.

Things to think about when planning your funeral:

Decide on what type of service you would like to have

Decide if you want any other funeral events

Personalise your funeral with flower arrangements, transportation, music, casket or memorial stone.

A Funeral Plan from Lodge Brothers gives you:

Protection against the rising cost of funerals – secure your plan at TODAY’s prices

Personal and Professional service from a fully trained Funeral Arranger

Guaranteed acceptance – No age or health restrictions

Monthly payment option – interest-free available

All funds held in a secure TRUST FUND ready to be paid when the time comes.

Say ‘Goodbye’ your way with Lodge Brothers funeral plans Ruislip

PROTECT YOUR LOVED ONES WITH PRE PAID FUNERAL PLANS SURBITON

Planning your funeral is one of the last ways you can show your loved ones how much they mean to you. Not only will you relieve them from extra financial burden of paying for your funeral, you will also give them peace of mind that your funeral is the way you would like to be remembered. Lodge Brothers have funeral plans to suit every need. They have listened to what their customers want and created some affordable options to choose from. Funeral Plans Ruislip ensure their clients’ needs and requests are carried out with the upmost care and consideration.

Read what some of Lodge Brothers Surbiton customers say about their excellent service …

Thank you for completing the job, it looks lovely. We will visit and take care not to lean on it!

Mr M – Tolworth | 30.05.2017

On behalf of my Mum, thank you for the marvellous job you and your team did for my Dad’s funeral yesterday.

Quite a few of the mourners remarked on how professional and discreet you were and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to carry the coffin.

Congratulations on a job well done

Mr W – Worcester Park | 01.06.2017

The funeral went very well. Martin Shaw the Celebrant gave a lovely service, lots of people attended with standing room only, and everyone commented on what a lovely funeral it was.  The Conductor and his men looked after us all very well.  Thank you to everyone at Lodge Brothers for their help and support, I am pleased to have used Lodge Brothers again.

Mrs N – Kingston on Thames | 26.05.2017

Lodge Brothers dedicated team can be reached by phone or email, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Contact them to find out about funeral plans Cobham.

Lodge Brothers family owned funeral directors with roots going back as far as 1780 when the business was started in Feltham by James Lodge.

Almost 230 years later Lodge Brothers continue to make affordable funeral services available so that everyone has access to a dignified memorial when their time comes.

Lodge Brothers offer a wide spectrum of funeral services such as pre-paid funeral plans Windsor, Burials, floral tributes and memorials. Their commitment is putting their clients first and serving their community with excellence.

Planning ahead with pre paid funeral plans Ashford will ensure that your family don’t have any extra expense to worry about – plus they will find comfort in the knowledge that you said goodbye in the way that you wanted.

Why a funeral plan from Lodge Brothers an important decision to make.

A Funeral Plan from Lodge Brothers gives you:

1. Protection against the rising cost of funerals – secure your plan at TODAY’s prices
2. Peace of mind for you and your loved ones
3. Personalise your funeral – Say “goodbye” YOUR way
4. Personal and Professional service from a fully trained Funeral Arranger
5. Guaranteed acceptance – No age or health restrictions
6. Monthly payment option – interest free available
7. All funds held in a secure TRUST FUND ready to be paid when the time comes.

Not only does Lodge Brothers help their clients with funerals and prepaid plans they also get involved in various charity fundraisers and community projects at their many branches throughout the UK.

Recently all their branches decorated their shop front window for Easter and some even held Easter colouring competitions with young and old taking part.

LODGE BROTHERS DONATE PASCHAL CANDLE TO HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

Richard Leachman, District Manager for the Windsor area, received a lovely letter of thanks from the Holy Trinity Garrison Parish Church for the provision of the Paschal Candle leading up to Easter Weekend.

Say “goodbye” YOUR way and give your loved one’s peace of mind with Lodge Brothers wide range of funeral plans.

Having served the community for over 230 years’ Lodge Brothers know exactly how to assist their customers with a fitting memorial to remember their loved ones and have helped thousands of people plan their own funeral. The benefits of Lodge Brothers flexible funeral plans Chertsey and funeral plans Ashford suite everyone’s needs.

Lodge Brothers Funeral Plans gives you:

1. Protection against the rising cost of funerals – secure your plan at TODAY’s prices
2. Personalise your funeral
3. Personal and Professional service from a fully trained Funeral Arranger
4. Guaranteed acceptance – No age or health restrictions
5. Monthly payment option – interest free available
6. All funds held in a secure TRUST FUND ready to be paid when the time comes.

Lodge Brothers have outstanding people who work for them, people who are dedicated, empathetic and who always go the extra mile for those in need. They are passionate about getting involved in the community and ensuring that their clients’ needs are taken care of during grief which is often the most difficult time in their life.

Paul Bye, our Surrey Commercial and Operations Manager recently appeared in the Wisley & Pyrford Magazine with a piece on what it is like to be a Funeral Director.

When Paul Bye reveals his profession at parties, it can be something of a show-stopper. Paul, from Surrey, gave up his career of 15 years to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a Funeral Director. Paul explains “I wanted to do a job that was more important, where I could help people. I wanted to make people aware of the choices that are available and help them to talk about death and dying.”

He added that he has “no fascination with death” as his work is about “helping the living by supporting grieving families.” Nevertheless, he does have to work in the mortuary with the deceased, so how does he cope with this aspect of the job? “Before becoming a Funeral Director I had never seen a dead body and found the prospect a little chilling, but I quickly became accustomed to it. It’s not creepy. The deceased is simply somebody whose heart no longer beats; somebody’s loved one.”

Dealing with grieving families on a daily basis must be harrowing but Paul said “I get a tangible sense of helping people. It’s meaningful, wonderful work.” He added that if he ever has a particularly difficult day, he unwinds by talking to his father (who also works for Lodge Brothers) about it. Paul says that his work has changed his own perspective on life. “It has made me hold the people I love tighter. It has made me appreciate them more. I no longer dwell on small things, hold grudges or let arguments lie unresolved.”

As part of Paul’s role at Lodge Brothers, he meets with clubs and societies to engage them in conversations about death and dying. “Death is a fact of life and it is important to be able to discuss your own thoughts and personal wishes. Planning ahead with funeral plans Englefield Green gives people the comfort of knowing that, when they die, their family and friends will have a good idea of the things that matter to them the most. Of course we encourage people to consider the implications of burial versus cremation, but we also ask people to think about their favourite pieces of music, donations to a designated charity, the funeral procession to take a specific route or bright colours to be worn.

Lodge Brothers family owned funeral services since 1780 are the trusted funeral arrangers in your area and renowned for the community work they love to participate in. Read some of the latest from the various branches of Lodge Brothers and you will soon feel confident in them.

TROPHY SUCCESS FOR LODGE BROTHERS ASHFORD!

Sandra Nuttall and Sue Pursey, the arrangers at the Ashford branch of Lodge Brothers Funeral Directors Ashford, have for many years set up their ‘ Memorial Tree’ to enable many of their families to hang a card and remember in gratitude all that their loved ones gave.

This year, in addition, the tree has just been recognised as one of the Best Dressed Trees in Ashford!

District Manager, Richard Leachman, said: “The good people of Ashford know what our tree represents – so much more than a fancy Christmas Tree. It is something which helps us remember the impact so many people have had on the lives of their families. With each card decoration, loved ones are remembered and cherished, and indeed live on in hearts and minds as visibly portrayed on the Memorial Tree”.

Lodge Brothers have a variety of funeral plans Ashford to suit every budget, lodge Brother recognise that every person’s situation is unique and they treat each person as an individual.

PRE-PAID FUNERAL PLANS CHERTSEY

Variety of bespoke funeral plans to suite your needs and budget

• Personalise your funeral – Say “goodbye” YOUR way
• Guaranteed protection against the rising costs of funerals
• Peace of mind for you and your loved ones
• Free no obligation home visits available
• Monthly payment option – Interest free finance available

LODGE BROTHERS CHRISTMAS REMEMBRANCE TREES AT ENGLEFIELD GREEN & WINDSOR

Each year, all the branches of Lodge Brothers Funeral Directors place a tree in their windows and invite those families who have lost a loved one in that year to attach a ‘remembrance card’ and give thanks for the life of the one they have lost.

In the end, across the branches, the memorial trees hold hundreds of cards. The branch at Windsor went one stage further and invited people to a small service of blessing on the last Sunday before Christmas, led by local vicar, Rev Margaret Bird.

The dozen or so who attended found the whole occasion very meaningful, some simply to remember and others to continue to try to come to terms with the loss of their loved one.

District Manager, Richard Leachman, commented that “Each person who came had their own individual reason for being there, and everyone could not thank us enough for putting on this simple event. It was very moving”.

Afterwards, Jill Palmer (arranger at Windsor) and Tom Hoyles (arranger at Englefield Green) who set up the event, travelled the few miles to ‘the Green’ and repeated the event there, led by Rev Mark Ewbank, vicar of St Jude’s.

Why choose Lodge Brothers to plan your funeral?

You can trust Lodge Brothers to guide you through every step of the journey. We take great pride in being able to offer a 24 hour service, 365 days a year, providing advice on what needs to be done and by whom.

With over 230 years of experience, we have encountered nearly every situation.

Everyone is an individual, and there are many options available to help you create a meaningful, memorable and personal funeral day that honours the deceased.

If you prefer, our Funeral Arranger can visit you at home to discuss the arrangements.