Lasting Power of Attorney

If you have not arranged a Lasting Power of Attorney we would strongly recommend that you do so. This is a forward-planning tool to help protect you if you ever lost mental capacity. There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney, one is to protect your property and financial affairs and the other is to protect your health and welfare needs if you ever lost mental capacity.

The time to create a Lasting Power of Attorney is when you are well and have not lost capacity, and as no one knows what the future holds, no matter how old you are, it is wise to put these important documents in place sooner rather than later.

With a Lasting Power of Attorney, you nominate someone you trust, called an Attorney, to speak up for you if you ever lost mental capacity.

Most people are under the misconception that their spouse will automatically be able to look after their financial affairs or care needs if they lost capacity, however, this is not the case.

If you do not have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, and you ultimately lose capacity, your loved ones may have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your Deputy. But this process is long-winded, stressful and extremely expensive. Many people engage a solicitor to do this for them, and the solicitors’ fee can roll into the thousands.

We offer a very competitive fixed fee of £150* per Lasting Power of Attorney. Therefore, to write both your Health & Welfare and Property & Financial Lasting Power of Attorney the cost would be £300*. The current timescales to register your Lasting Power of Attorney with the Office of Public Guardian is 20 weeks. As well as writing your Lasting Powers of Attorney, at no additional cost, we will offer to track your forms and update you accordingly.

*This does not include the government fee to register your Lasting Power of Attorney with the Office of Public Guardian, which is £82 per Lasting Power of Attorney, however, the OPG reduces this fee depending on your income and/or if you receive certain benefits. We will apply for the reduced fee on your behalf if this is applicable.

Wills

Research indicates that one in two (50%) UK adults do not have a Will. Perhaps surprisingly, a third of over 55’s say they do not have a Will. These figures are lower again if you take into account how many of these Wills are still up-to-date and valid.

If you have an existing Will that needs updating, you could add onto the Will, this is called a Codicil. However, it is usually best practice and more cost effective to re-write your existing Will.

To make sure your Will is signed correctly, we always offer to be present during the execution of your Will. We offer this service at no additional cost.

Once we have written your Will, and you subscribe to our Document Storage and Review Service, we will store your Will and can update it whenever your personal or family circumstances change, at no additional costs.

Ref: https://www.canadalife.co.uk/news/half-of-uk-adults-don-t-have-a-will

Will writing and Lasting Powers of Attorney are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Please visit www.smartlaterlife.co.uk for further information on Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney