062 PLANNING FOR LATER LIFE
them before making any decisions. You may also want to think about asking them along to any meetings you have with your solicitor or the financial advisor.
What next?
Once you have decided that you want to know more about equity release, you will need to set up a meeting with a fully qualifi ed fi nancial adviser who is a member of the Equity Release Council. They will review your circumstances to check if equity release is right for you and fi nd a product to suit your requirements. • Involve your family and discuss your plans with them.
• Appoint a solicitor to carry out the necessary legal work to complete your contract with the equity release provider. It’s also worth checking that the solicitor you appoint is familiar with equity release products and the processes. • The plan provider will need to have a valuation of your home and will instruct
a RICS-qualified surveyor to assess the property’s value and survey it. • Legal checks (i.e. title deeds to the property) and contract signing.
• Visit
equityreleasecouncil.com Did you know?
• The cash raised through equity release is commonly spent on home improvements, clearing debts, gifts, care fees and holidays. • According to The Financial Ombudsman common complaints surround hefty early repayment charges, the fi nal repayment bill and the suitability of the product itself. Two thirds of complaints come from relatives.
An equity release mortgage is essentially a long-term loan secured on your property. You don’t need to make any repayments before the end of your plan. Interest is added onto the loan each year at a fixed rate, but both the loan and the interest are repaid in full, usually from the sale of your property when you die or go into long-term care. This is sometimes quite a substantial repayment as interest has accrued on the
outstanding balance each year.
Breaking the DEATHLY SILENCE
The minimum you can
Pilgrims Hospices will be hosting a mini arts festival on Saturday 18th May at their education centre on London Road, Canterbury, bringing together local community groups, artists, health professionals and local businesses to run a series of interactive workshops, talks and information stands, all designed to encourage refl ection and conversation around death, dying and bereavement. The festival will form part of a wider
national programme of events for Dying Matters Week 2019, a national campaign which aims to help people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement and to make plans for the end of life.
WORKSHOPS & TALKS WILL INCLUDE: • Life drawing with Art in Canterbury. • Singing with the Lemon Zingers. • Remembrance wreath making with Essentially Hops. • Alternative funeral ideas workshop with Holly’s Funerals. • Will writing with Boys & Maughan solicitors. • The role of a death doula. • Living with Loss.
• Places for workshops can be booked via
pilgrimshospices.org/bigconversation or by calling 01227 812616.
borrow is usually around £15,000 and you will have to be at least 55. You are free to use the money however you see fi t. You might be thinking about updating your kitchen, going on holiday, making it easier to live during later life, or perhaps you’d like to lend a fi nancial helping hand to your family. Bear in mind the downsides that it may reduce the amount of inheritance you can leave and may affect your tax position or affect benefi ts in the future.
Boys & Maughan’s
offi ces in Canterbury, Margate, Birchington, Broadstairs and Ramsgate all deal with equity release and the partners in each offi ce would be happy to discuss this with you before you make a decision. • See Boys & Maughan’s advert on page 20 for details of how to contact them.
indexmagazine.co.uk
Equity release legal advice
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