Planning Ahead With Wills And Lasting Powers Of Attorney

Planning ahead is the key to making life for you and your loved ones as easy as possible; this should include thinking about making a Will and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Making a Will

There are many reasons to make a Will, including:

• To avoid the intestacy rules (which provide for certain relatives to benefit when someone dies without a Will) - for example, to benefit an unmarried partner;
• To make sure your personal belongings go to the people you choose;
• To appoint guardians for minor children;
• To leave a gift to a charity;
• Inheritance tax planning.

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)

LPAs let you appoint people you know and trust to make decisions on your behalf and enables you to give guidance to those people on how decisions affecting you should be made. There are two types of LPA:

• a property and financial affairs LPA, which covers decisions about your finances and assets, such as running your bank accounts, claiming any benefits you may be entitled to and deciding whether any property you own should be sold; and
• a health and welfare LPA, which covers decisions about your health and personal wellbeing, including how you should be cared for, the sorts of medical treatment that should be administered and where you should live.

Published: March 2018

Contact us

Laura Schofield, Solicitor in Ware & Kay's Probate department, advises making both LPAs to ensure all decisions that may need to be made on your behalf are covered. For more information or to make an appointment, please contact Laura Schofield in Ware & Kay's Wetherby office on 01937 543964.

Special offer - 20% OFF

Ware & Kay Solicitors have a special 20% discount on fees for Lasting Powers of Attorney, for clients wishing to make Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney at the same time.