Wills
Ensuring that your family members are taken care of after your death by having a valid Will may be one of the most significant things you ever do.

One in three people in the UK do not have a Will and half of all people over the age of 45 have not made a Will. Many people put off making a Will as they believe they have nothing to leave. However, if you stop and think about it for a moment you will agree that we all accumulate possessions during our lifetime (even if they are only of sentimental value) and we all have to decide whether to be buried or cremated after our death.

Not having a Will adds a burden on your loved ones at a very distressing time for them, particularly if you have not made your funeral wishes known. It can also cause unnecessary delay and expense in administering your wishes after your death.

Things to Consider When Making a Will:

• Executors and Trustees – these are the people you choose to administer your estate. If you are leaving any money to children they will also be responsible for investing the money appropriately on the children’s behalf. You can choose anyone you trust, for example a friend or relative, and they can also be a beneficiary.

• Guardians – if you have young children it is important that you specify who you would want them to live with and who you would want to be responsible for their welfare.

• Funeral Wishes – many people do not like to discuss this with their loved ones so including it in your Will is a simple way of letting them know what your personal wishes are.

• Sentimental Gifts – you can specify who you wish to leave specific items too.

• Gifts of Money – you can leave any number of gifts, to family friends or charity.

• Your Residuary Estate – this means the assets left in your estate once all bills and taxes have been paid and any gifts have been distributed. You can leave your estate to anyone you wish.

Why Use Garden House Solicitors to Make Your Will?

Here at Garden House we pride ourselves on offering a specialist service to ensure that making your Will is as simple and painless as possible. We appreciate that many people do not want to consider what will happen when they die but we are very experienced in making you feel relaxed and at ease, and many clients comment on how relieved they feel once their Will has been signed.

We offer a competitively priced, fixed-fee service for the drafting of both simple and complex Wills. Once your Will has been signed and witnessed we will store it for you free of charge in our safe custody for your lifetime.

Free Will Review:

We recommend that you regularly check your Will, at least every couple of years. If you have a homemade Will or have any doubts over whether your existing Will meets your current wishes we are happy to review the Will for you free of charge. It is important to remember that having a badly drafted Will or one that has been completed without the relevant formalities being adhered to could leave you in the same situation as if you had not made a Will at all.

There are certain events and circumstances that can affect the terms of your Will. For example, if after signing your Will you get married, that Will is revoked (unless the Will was made in contemplation of that marriage). Other circumstances include:

• Birth of new children or grandchildren;
• Start of a new relationship;
• Divorce or separation;
• Purchase of a new property (either in this country or abroad);
• Any money you win or inherit.

For more information or to arrange an appointment call today and speak to one of our experts – 01992 422128

Download and complete our wills questionnaire

Powers of Attorney
There are a number of different types of power of attorney:

• Financial & Property Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
• Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
• Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA)
• General Power of Attorney

Financial & Property Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney:

This LPA enables you to specify who you would want to be able to access and assist you with your financial affairs should you become unable to manage on your own. The power remains valid even if you lose mental capacity, and covers decisions such as managing your bank accounts and investments, resolving any banking problems, carrying on your business, issuing cheques and paying your bills.

Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney:

This LPA covers decisions relating to any care or treatment you may require, and can only be used if you have lost mental capacity. Care decisions include deciding what care you require in your own home, who should provide that care for you, whether you should go into a residential home and complaining on your behalf about any care you receive. Treatment decisions include whether or not you should have an operation, if you want certain medication, if an assessment is correct and what should happen if you become unconscious.

Many people mistakenly believe that if they lost mental capacity a relative or their next of kin could automatically take over their affairs but this is not true. The law prevents companies from discussing your accounts, invoices or financial issues with anyone except you unless they have a valid power of attorney or deputy order (see below). Furthermore, the ‘next of kin’ concept is not recognised by English law.

We can assist you in each stage of setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney, from talking you through the many different decisions, acting as your certificate provider and dealing with registration.

If you would like to have a say in your future call us today for more information on setting up a lasting power of attorney.

Enduring Power of Attorney:

Since 1st October 2007 it has not been possible to create new Enduring Powers of Attorney. However, if you created an EPA prior to that date it is still valid and gives your chosen attorneys authority to assist you in relation to your financial affairs both before and after you lose mental capacity (subject to any restrictions you chose).

One issue that is often overlooked is the duty of an attorney to register an EPA with the Office of the Public Guardian if the donor has lost, or is beginning to lose mental capacity. This is often a time when the health of the donor deteriorates and therefore the attorney’s priority is understandably to spend time with their loved one. We are therefore happy to deal with registering the EPA on your behalf for a fixed fee, leaving your time free to assist your loved one.

General Power of Attorney:

These can be used for a variety of reasons, for example if you are going abroad for a length of time you may wish to appoint someone to run your business on your behalf or to finalise the sale of a property.

A general power of attorney can only be used whilst the donor retains mental capacity.

Deputyship
If your loved one does not have a valid EPA of LPA ask them to consider putting one in place now.

If they are no longer capable of doing so then you can apply to the Court of Protection for a Deputy Order. This gives similar powers to those in an LPA but is granted by the Court. Unfortunately this process can take some considerable time and be more costly, but here at Garden House we have the necessary expertise to progress the matter as quickly as possible for you.

An application involves providing the Court with full details of the person’s financial and personal circumstances, together with an assessment by a medical professional to confirm that they no longer have sufficient mental capacity to manage their own affairs.

Once appointed the Deputy will have to keep details accounts and records and will be supervised by the Office of the Public Guardian.

If you have questions on any of these issues please contact a member of our Private Client team on 01992 422128 for more information.

Probate
When you lose someone you love it can be a very emotional and daunting time and getting to grips with the legal side of things is quite often the last thing you want to do.
Here at Garden House we are happy to provide you with as much or as little assistance as you require. Everyone deals with grief in their own personal way and we believe that you deserve a personal service.

We therefore offer a number of options to assist you:

• A simple fixed-fee meeting to explain the terms of the Will to you (if the deceased left a Will) and explain exactly what you need to do to administer the estate;
• Assisting you through the initial stages by obtaining the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration on your behalf for a fixed fee;
• A complete service whereby we assist you in dealing with the entire estate, from registering the death to final distribution.

Whatever option you choose, we will guide you through the process with expertise and efficiency and above all we will ensure that the deceased’s wishes are carried out with the utmost care.

Please call us on 01992 422128 to arrange an appointment to discuss your next steps.