It is a common misconception that making a Will or Lasting Power of Attorney document is for ‘old’ people, but what age do you consider ‘old’?

Wills

A Will is a legal document that helps you to set out your wishes to be put into place on your death. This may include the people you wish to benefit from your estate, your funeral wishes and even the people you wish to care for your pets. It can also prevent issues, arguments and potentially excessive costs that may arise on your death.

But consider; no one knows when they are going to die, or what will happen during their lifetime, whether it be an accident or unexpected illness. Whilst it may not be a welcomed thought, it is important to prepare for the unexpected and often, to make things simpler for family members in difficult times.

Often thinking about age, when deciding whether to make a Will, is not the best approach. Instead, consider your individual circumstances and family set-up.

There are many reasons why it might be important for you to make a will, such as:

• Leaving home or buying a home of your own

Moving out of your parent’s house and maybe buying one of your own. If you die without a will; under intestacy rules your assets would pass to your parents.

If you have a partner and you are moving in with them, but you are not married, you may still wish for assets or a proportion of assets to pass to them. It would be important to have a will in place to ensure your wishes are followed.

If you buy a home with another person, a friend or partner for example, and you own this jointly with them, it may be that the house would automatically pass to them upon your death. It is important to get advice on this and to ensure that your share of the home can pass to the people you wish.

• Having children

This is one of the most important circumstances in which you should make a will.

It is important to appoint guardians for children who are under the age of 18. These people will hold the legal guardianship of your children in the event that you and the child or children’s co-parent are no longer living. It may be especially important to choose these people yourself to ensure that these are the people you trust the most. It is also important to note that naming people as godparents is not legally binding.

Additionally, it is important to ensure that your children are provided for financially. This may involve setting up a trust, putting aside money or including instructions for how money may be used for their education, future, and also for their day-to-day living. It is important to discuss your options with a legal professional to ensure that you are putting in place the best protection for your family.

• Having grandchildren

Many grandparents wish to change their Will in some way to include any grandchildren they may have.

This may also apply if you wish to update your Will to include further grandchildren that may have been born after the date of your current documentation. It may be important to review your Will in these circumstances to ensure that no grandchildren have been missed out.

• Getting married

Marriage revokes a will, even if you had already put one in place. In such circumstances, intestacy rules would apply, this could result in assets passing to your new husband or wife. If you wish to provide for other loved ones, for charities, or you have a more complicated family set-up, it is important to discuss this with a legal professional and to detail those wishes in your Will.

• Getting divorced or separating from a partner

Unlike marriage, divorce does not revoke a will. It is therefore extremely important to review and replace any existing Will if you wish to change the people who will ultimately benefit from your assets.

• If your assets exceed or could exceed Inheritance Tax limits

It is important in these circumstances to get tax advice and to begin estate planning early to ensure that you make the most of the tax relief available to you.

• If you don’t have many assets

It is a common misconception that if you don’t own many assets, don’t own a property, or don’t have much money in the bank, that you don’t need to have a Will. This is not the case. It is still important to put in place your wishes and ensure that the assets you do have reach your loved ones. It is also important to remember that a Will is not just about dividing up your assets, it is about providing your loved ones with clarity and certainty about what you wanted to happen when you passed away.

• If you already have a Will

Often those who already have a Will, don’t believe they need to update it. It is important to review and potentially update your Will every 5 years, especially where circumstances, such as the above, may have changed. You may consider this on your own and make this decision, or you may wish for a professional to review your Will with you and suggest other potential options for your assets.

This may be particularly important where laws have changed or updated since the time of making your current Will. A professional will be able to provide you with up-to-date tax advice.

Lasting Powers of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney involves appointing people you trust to manage your property and finances or your health and welfare when you are unable to do so yourself. This could involve a person with a diagnosis of dementia, but it could also be an unexpected and sudden illness, such as a stroke, or an accident that results in brain damage. A Lasting Power of Attorney helps you to plan for the future, protect your finances and allow the people you trust the most to make decisions regarding your health and welfare.

Many people believe that should you lose mental capacity to make decisions for yourself, those decisions will automatically fall to your next of kin. People also assume that if you have joint assets then as long as the joint owner is ok then they can continue to look after the assets by themselves. Unfortunately, the families of those people who rely on this, often face difficulties in managing their finances and making decisions about their health and where they are cared for. Such difficulties may include bank accounts being frozen, the inability to pay care fees or doctors making health and care decisions that may not be as you would wish (for example, treatment for cancer or life support).

We often find that people only think about these documents or find out they need them when it is too late. People also assume that it is the family or loved ones that make the decision to make a Power of Attorney. Sadly, this is not the case.

As with any legal document, a person is required to have mental capacity when making a Lasting Power of Attorney. If a person is already struggling, or is unable to make decisions for themselves, it is unlikely that such documentation would be able to be created. For this reason, it is important that you make the documents in advance of your requirements and to prepare for a time, a possibly unexpected time, when they may be needed.

If the documents have not previously been made and a person has already lost mental capacity, there are other options available, however this is often very time consuming and very costly. It is important to get legal advice if this is something that you are experiencing as a family member or friend.

At Ridley & Hall, we have Wills & Probate solicitors available to offer professional legal advice and put in place both Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney. Please do not hesitate to contact our friendly and approachable team on our free phone 0800 8 60 62 65 for further information or to arrange an appointment.