Coronavirus : Wills & Lasting Powers of Attorney
At this time of National crisis, is it vital to have these essential legal documents in place to protect your and your family’s best interests, should the worst happen.
The Wills, Trusts and Probate Team at Prince Evans Solicitors LLP are here to help and open for business, with all members of the team fully operational and working remotely from home.
We are happy to continue to carry out home visits, hospital and nursing home visits, as necessary; otherwise, matters will be dealt with by telephone conference calls or FaceTime, in order to follow social distancing requirements.
The Team remain committed to supporting our clients’ needs during this most difficult of times.
The importance of having professionally drafted legally valid Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney (“LPA’s”) in place can simply not be underestimated in these never-before-seen uncertain times.
Wills :
During this time of world-wide crisis it is understandable for us all to be feeling very anxious about the future. Ensuring that you have an up-to-date and legally valid Will in place provides you with a degree of certainty and reassurance that your affairs will be handled correctly, and your estate distributed in accordance with your wishes, when the time comes.
Without having a correctly drafted Will the rules governing intestacy determine who inherits your estate. This may mean that your relatives, friends and favourite charities receive nothing. Having a legally valid Will in place is the only method by which you control who benefits from your estate on your death.
Inheritance Tax planning measures can also be built into your Will to help prevent unnecessary amounts of tax needing to be paid, which would ultimately reduce the funds available to your loved ones. ln light of this it is crucial to review your Will and personal affairs and obtain appropriate legal advice.
lf you already have a Will in place it is advisable to review it regularly as circumstances can change at any time for anyone, especially during these unprecedented uncertain times. Updates may need to be made to an existing Will via a Codicil, or a new Will may even need to be drawn up. We would be very happy to discuss any changes you may wish to make to an existing Will.
Lasting Powers of Attorney :
Managing your affairs to cover the possibility of becoming incapable of making decisions yourself, is a complicated and difficult task. Having LPA’s in place can be a great relief to those dearest to you and can lessen the hardship they may face should decisions need to be made on your behalf during your lifetime
LPA’s are essential legal documents for persons wishing to appoint others with the authority to look after their personal and financial affairs.
There are two different types of LPA; one to cover a person’s property and financial affairs, and one to cover a person’s health and welfare (including power to give or refuse consent to medical treatment). You can choose to make one type of LPA without necessarily making the other.
It is of course possible for you to write your own Wills and LPA’s without the use of legal experts, however it is highly inadvisable to do so. There are many legal formalities that need to be followed to ensure that your Will and LPA’s are valid. A Will and / or LPA drafted by the skilled legal professionals here at Prince Evans can protect against a risk of invalidity.
Why Prince Evans?
Prince Evans provide a cost-effective Will writing service, helping you to ensure that all foreseeable eventualities are covered. By appointing Prince Evans to prepare your Will you will also benefit from the added security of knowing that your Will has been drafted by an experienced and regulated legal professional, who is part of an insurance-backed firm.
Prince Evans also provide appropriate professional advice on the structure, preparation and registration of LPA’s, as well as regarding the appointment of Deputies, often liaising with either The Office of the Public Guardian or The Court of Protection on behalf of our clients and their loved-ones.
Written by Ben Davies; Partner, Member of the LLP and Head of the Wills, Trusts and Probate Team
