WillMakers

19/04/2023

IF I GET DEMENTIA, I’d like my family to hang this Wish List up on the wall where I live. I want them to remember these things.

1. If I get dementia, I want my friends and family to embrace my reality.
2. If I think my spouse is still alive, or if I think we’re visiting my parents for dinner, let me believe those things. I’ll be much happier for it.
3. If I get dementia, don’t argue with me about what is true for me versus what is true for you.
4. If I get dementia, and I am not sure who you are, do not take it personally. My timeline is confusing to me.
5. If I get dementia, and can no longer use utensils, do not start feeding me. Instead, switch me to a finger-food diet, and see if I can still feed myself.
6. If I get dementia, and I am sad or anxious, hold my hand and listen. Do not tell me that my feelings are unfounded.
7. If I get dementia, I don’t want to be treated like a child. Talk to me like the adult that I am.
8. If I get dementia, I still want to enjoy the things that I’ve always enjoyed. Help me find a way to exercise, read, and visit with friends.
9. If I get dementia, ask me to tell you a story from my past.
10. If I get dementia, and I become agitated, take the time to figure out what is bothering me.
11. If I get dementia, treat me the way that you would want to be treated.
12. If I get dementia, make sure that there are plenty of snacks for me in the house. Even now if I don’t eat I get angry, and if I have dementia, I may have trouble explaining what I need.
13. If I get dementia, don’t talk about me as if I’m not in the room.
14. If I get dementia, don’t feel guilty if you cannot care for me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s not your fault, and you’ve done your best. Find someone who can help you, or choose a great new place for me to live.
15. If I get dementia, and I live in a dementia care community, please visit me often.
16. If I get dementia, don’t act frustrated if I mix up names, events, or places. Take a deep breath. It’s not my fault.
17. If I get dementia, make sure I always have my favourite music playing within earshot.
18. If I get dementia, and I like to pick up items and carry them around, help me return those items to their original place.
19. If I get dementia, don’t exclude me from parties and family gatherings.
20. If I get dementia, know that I still like receiving hugs or handshakes.
21. If I get dementia, remember that I am still the person you know and love.”

12/08/2021

There's a fair chance that your home is your main asset. Imagine, therefore, your home being used to pay for your residential care fees later in life. Imagine also your home not passing to your loved ones, but passing to someone else's children.

If you own your home jointly, thankfully, there's clever ways of will writing that limit the damage in either of these respects.

Get in touch if you'd like to know a bit more....

09/02/2021

Arranging or Reviewing your Will could be your greatest gift.

If you die without a Will, the law decides what happens to your assets.

This is one reason why having a Will is so important, as it prevents this unnecessary complication and protects your family.

We can help you through the process of making a Will in a simple, straightforward and cost effective manner.

www.willmakers.org

Just give Hugh or Nigel a call if you need help or advice. We are always available to help you, your friends or family.

05/02/2021

THE USE OF A DISCRETIONARY TRUST IN YOUR WILL

Is your son or daughter divorcing? Do they have money worries or drink or drug problems? Do they have a gambling addiction?

Protection of beneficiaries is one of the most common uses for a discretionary trust. This may be protection from themselves or from third parties.

One of the chosen beneficiaries may, for example, have divorce proceedings pending or be at risk of bankruptcy. Giving to this beneficiary outright could lead to their inheritance being lost through those proceedings. Alternatively, a beneficiary may be a spendthrift or has drink, drug or gambling problems and the testator may not trust them to inherit a large sum of money.

Rather than giving to that beneficiary outright, the testator could instead gift to a discretionary trust with that person as a potential beneficiary. Whilst their issues are ongoing, the trustees could provide occasional benefits (for example to pay for rehab or towards solicitors’ fees in a divorce). Once the trustees deem it appropriate to do so, they could then pass that beneficiary’s inheritance to them.

If this resonates with you and your family, do get in touch. We can provide you with huge peace of mind....

03/02/2021

Have you mislaid your will? Have you turned the house upside down trying to locate it? If your original will cannot be found at the time you pass, this can cause some significant problems for family members dealing with your affairs.

If your will is lost and the last known location of the will was in your possession, a presumption arises that the you destroyed the will with the intention of revoking it.

We keep remote copies of all our wills, which might be reassuring. We also check that wills have been signed and witnessed correctly.

Losing your will can be a massive pain, not having a will to lose is even worse. Don't leave anything to chance, get it sorted....

25/01/2021

We all like to think that our friends will raise a glass to us when we’ve gone, but Roger Brown made sure of it. The 67-year-old lost his life to prostate cancer in 2013, leaving behind a secret bequest of £3,500 to seven of his closest friends, with the proviso that they use it for a boozy weekend away to a European city.

“We would like to formally apologise to Roger’s two sons, Sam and Jack, for taking away some of their inheritance,” beneficiary Roger Rees told the South Wales Evening Post after the friends spent a weekend in Berlin. “We spent most of it on beer, the rest we wasted.”

What a great chap. You can do something similar in your will if you wish. Just call us up, we'd be happy to help....

12/01/2021

As a couple, if you own your own home, chances are it's your most valuable asset, or at least close to it.

Imagine if you need to sell your home to pay for care home fees if that becomes a reality in your life. Imagine, if you have children, they possibly become disinherited if one of you passes away, and as a result of your spouse remarrying your hard earned asset passes to someone else's family.

Does this concern you? Enough to want to have a no obligation, free chat to two Oswestry boys? If so, do call us, message us, ping us or poke us. We know a lot about wills and how you can protect the assets you own for your nearest and dearest.

11/01/2021

There's very few people that we know that can repair or service a car themselves. Reading from a manual whilst trying to work out your big end from your rear end must be impossible.

Same with writing a will. By all means, buy the cheap kit and manual and have a go. It might work.

Chances are though, just like the car, it won't!

If you feel like chucking manual in the bin and saving yourselves a whole lot of meither, do get in touch. We know a lot about wills, almost nothing about cars....

10/12/2020

59% OF UK ADULTS DON’T HAVE A VALID WILL.

This means they do not have full control of where there assets go. The only real way to be certain is to write a Will.

It is scary that so many people do not have a Will but positive that this figure used to be 67% of the UK adult population. This means that more adults are educated about the need for a Will.

If you don't have a Will in place, we'd be happy to talk you through what is likely to happen to your estate if you passed away. No sales pitch, just honest LOCAL advice and facts.

www.willmakers.org

29/11/2020

If you are contemplating writing a Power of Attorney, you might want to record that your attorneys must not sell your home unless, in your doctor's opinion, you can no longer live independently.

So, with that sorted, you can carry on hoovering in peace......

The peter kay john smiths advert when he asks her to go to the old peoples home