Wills & Powers of Attorney
Two in three people in the UK die without making a will, often creating financial problems and emotional stress for the family and friends left behind. If you die without a will, you will have lost the opportunity to decide who benefits from your estate - the law decides. You may be unpleasantly surprised to learn that when a married person dies without a will the surviving spouse does not automatically inherit their estate. The rise in divorce rates and those living together unmarried also complicates matters - the surviving partner could be left penniless, as could children from an earlier marriage. If you do not have a family, your estate will pass to the Crown rather than friends or charities. A will can also reduce or extinguish any liability to inheritance tax. We recommend that all our clients make a will - and review them when circumstances change. We do not prepare wills ourselves as we believe that the relatively modest cost of having a will drawn up by an experienced professional firm of solicitors is money well spent - for you and your family.
There are convincing arguments for all adults to set up a Power of Attorney - not just the elderly or infirm - as none of us know if we will suffer an accident or sudden illness. By establishing this while you are able, you retain full authority and power over your finances. However, if you became mentally incapacitated at a later date, the Power of Attorney would enable people that you know and trust - such as your family or your legal representatives - to look after your affairs. Without such powers, the management of your affairs could be problematic and costly.
Many people already have an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), which can still be acted on. An EPA allowed you to appoint someone of your own choice - called an Attorney - to manage your finances. Although the power could be used immediately, for most people its main benefit was that it allowed a smooth takeover if mental capacity was lost.
In October 2007, Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) were launched. A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to appoint an Attorney to make decisions about your health and welfare as well as your finances. You can appoint different Attorneys for these different purposes, and can limit the powers of each Attorney to specific situations.
There are other differences between the EPAs and LPAs. The finance section of an LPA has to be registered before it can be used, but capacity does not have to be compromised or lost. However the welfare section can only be acted on after capacity is lost.
If you are thinking of making an LPA, you should obtain clear legal advice. Above all, you should think very carefully about who would be the best person- or people - to manage your affairs as an Attorney. If you have an existing EPA you may wish to review its terms to see if it should be changed to an LPA.
If you do not already have a solicitor to draw up a Will or Power of Attorney, we would be pleased to recommend one.
Please contact us for more information, or return to our services page.