102 PLANNING FOR LATER LIFE SPECIAL
indexmagazine.co.uk
CROSSING THE T’S DOTTING THE I’S &
You’ll happily arrange insurance for your house or car, so why don’t you do the same for yourself in case the unexpected happens?
wishes. And that’s why you shouldn’t put off getting your Will organised (or indeed, update your current one) or look to make Lasting Powers of Attorney.
I
Life changes, so should your Will
According to the fi gures, a shocking 97% of us either need to make a Will or update our Will. Ask yourself this: if you have a Will, what has happened since you wrote it? Have you:
• Become signifi cantly less or more wealthy? • Reconciled with a person you now wish to provide for in your Will? • Started divorce proceedings against your spouse or them against you? • Started a new relationship and want to provide for your partner or ended a relationship and no longer wish to provide for your ex-partner? • Become a grandparent and want to make a provision for your grandchild? • Fallen out with a benefi ciary and you now
t’s a fact – none of us like talking about death and while the inevitable may still seem a long way off it’s important to protect your assets and ensure your loved ones are looked after according to their
wish to remove them from the Will? Our list gives just a few illustrations of events in life when you many need to consider changing your Will or making a new one. If this is something you have been considering doing for a while, your fi rst step should be to seek professional legal advice.
Planning for the unexpected
People of all ages are becoming increasingly prepared to face up to the possibility that in the future they could become unable to make decisions for themselves due to mental incapacity, whether brought on by a sudden accident, illness or advancing age. One positive way of dealing with things is to create a Lasting Power of Attorney (an LPA), a legal tool to appoint people you know and trust to look after your property and fi nancial affairs or health and welfare should you become unable to do so yourself. It is imperative to note you can only set up a Lasting Power of Attorney when you have mental capacity. Once you’ve lost capacity, it’s too late.
There are two types of LPA: • Property & Finance • Health & Welfare
The property and fi nance document enables the person/people you have nominated to manage your fi nancial affairs and deal with your assets as necessary, perhaps the sale of your home if you need to go into residential care. The Health and Welfare document enables the same or different people to make decisions regarding your health, such as medical treatment in consultation with the medical professionals, which residential home you wish to go to if the need arises and many other personal decisions. Before your chosen attorneys can use the powers, they need to be registered by the Offi ce of the Public Guardian (OPG).
Peace of mind
LPAs can be set up relatively cheaply online without the help of a solicitor but they are a powerful and important legal document and you may wish to seek advice from a legal adviser with experience of preparing them for peace of mind. • Setting up an LPA does not mean that it takes immediate effect and you can give your attorneys instructions to deal with your affairs in a certain way. Solicitors can advise you on the instructions that are possible and are permitted by the OPG.
© rawpixel
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110