I aim help people protect and preserve more of their savings and assets (property, jewellery, personal possessions, cash in bank accounts, investments) and for the benefit of future generations.
It is all too easy for things to go wrong if you don’t take expert professional advice.
For example, should you need to go into care, you will be expected to pay the full costs if you have assets of more than £23,250 - unless you can persuade the ‘authorities’ that your health conditions are so severe that the NHS should pay for you, which is far from an easy matter!
For me, this is a fascinating job. I meet lots of genuinely nice people who need help and advice to understand how the law works and how some really simple things can thwart their best intentions because they were unaware of the potential pitfalls or did not write things down in the correct legal format.
I’ve been involved in will writing and estate planning now since January 2012 and I wish I’d been introduced to it earlier, because every client’s circumstances are different and the mental challenge of working out the most appropriate solution, then explaining it in layman’s terms, is what stimulates me. Before this, I have worked in a variety of technical financial services situations (e.g. mortgages and insurance, where I was a Compliance Manager for many years) and encountered a wide range of complex legal situations and documentation that needed accurate interpretation and explanation.
It is quite common for children to be completely disinherited if one of the parents dies prematurely and the other goes on to remarry - unless the initial couple make the right provision (by arranging the ownership of their house as ‘joint tenants’ and directing their separate shares into a post-death trust).
Similar problems can affect unmarried couples who, incidentally do not have any automatic rights of inheritance from each other! It is not uncommon for one of the partners to own the house they live in, which on their death is likely to pass to his or her children. Even though the partners may have lived together for 20 years or more, the children of the deceased may evict the survivor (who may then become homeless) in order to cash in on the value of the property.
I heard of a couple where the man died of cancer in his mid-40s and his unmarried partner of 25 years, did not receive a penny! He had not made a Will so the Laws of Intestacy decreed that his life insurance should go to his mother. The bereaved partner depended on her cohabiting partner’s income to pay the bills, including the mortgage. When he died she had insufficient money to pay the mortgage (which would have been paid off completely if the life insurance had been arranged correctly) so she lost everything!
There are several ways to have prevented this, had they taken expert advice from a professional will writer.
Trusts may have a variety of intentions, such as managing the funds for the benefit of a disabled family member after you pass, or delaying the payment of large lump sums to say, 18-year-olds or to protect beneficiaries from losing their state benefits. You can also appoint Guardians in your Will, to declare who shall have ‘parental responsibility’ for your children (up to age 18) in the event of your premature demise.
Few people understand Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and only think about arranging after it is too late! You must have mental capacity to be able to make an LPA and, whilst most people think about dementia-related conditions, there are many other situations when individuals may be unable to make their own decisions, such as from accident, illness or injury. If you fall into a coma or, in the worst case, into a persistent vegetative state, your loved ones may have considerable difficulties accessing cash or making decisions about your care and welfare unless you have already made them your Attorney.
Money in joint accounts is likely to be be frozen, meaning you may have to apply to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship Order. These are expensive and time-consuming to arrange, and if the court does not consider you to be suitable, it may appoint a solicitor to be the Deputy. Typical first year costs are up to £4,000 (and thereafter, up to £2,600 per annum) and it is not unusual for the Court to take 9-12 months or longer to make the appointment! In the meantime, your family could be suffering extreme hardship.
With a correctly written LPA, your family can obtain copies of your medical file and case notes if they need to contest decisions made by social services and the NHS about the type of care you are receiving.
There are two types of LPA, and they are both important in different ways:
Property & Financial Affairs
Health & Welfare
When individuals go into care, they are normally requited to pay for the costs themselves. If they have savings and investments, these must be used to pay for their care. Where a property is owned, the local authority may arrange a delayed payment plan, and it will collect the monies it has paid out when the property is ultimately sold - plus annual interest on the debt! I’ve come across families who have ‘lost’ hundreds of thousands of pounds if the person in care survives for many years. Children and grandchildren who may have been expecting a nice nest-egg are frequently disappointed, and it may have been different if the individuals concerned took proper advice well before the problems become apparent.
One issue that all adults should consider is the cost of funerals, which have been rising at well above the rate of general inflation for the past 20 years or more. The average cost of a basic funeral in the UK rose by 4.7% in 2018 to more than £4,200 (it was +4.6% in 2017)!
You can pay for your funeral and FIX the costs at today’s prices - and there instalment plans to spread the cost (for a nominal additional charge) if you wish. There are different plans available to suit your individual wishes, and you can specify what sort of service you want (to take away the obligation from your family when they are still grieving your loss).
AND FINALLY...
As with most things, there are terms and conditions that can catch out the unwary. It is my job to find the most suitable products and services for you and to explain everything to your satisfaction. Whilst you should check your documents periodically to ensure they still meet your needs (as a minimum, every five years), you should take care to appoint someone who will do a professional job for you...
...you’ve seen my photo - you’d expect a will writer to be a baldy, beardy, nerdy guy wouldn’t you? How else do you know he’s the right man for the job? Oh, and as you might have guessed, I drive a Volvo!
Call me on 07565 962904 or email [email protected] to arrange a free, no obligation appointment to discuss your requirements - before it’s too late!
Thanks,
Dave Espin, member of Solon Legal Services and Affiliate of the Society of Will Writers
