A Will is a document that allows you to decide what happens to your estate when you die. It usually appoints someone you trust to be able to manage your estate and affairs on your death. It is important to make sure that your Will reflects what you would want to happen to your estate if you were to die now. This way, it gives you peace of mind that your estate is passing to the people that you want to benefit, it can also help to prevent potential disputes and make things easier for your appointed Executors and those you have included in your Will.
If you do not prepare a Will, or if you do not have a valid Will, your estate would be distributed in accordance with the Rules of Intestacy which you can read more about here.
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) are a legal documents that allow you (the donor) to decide who to appoint as Attorneys (the people you choose to look after your affairs) to make property and financial, or health and welfare decisions for you if are no longer able to make these decisions for yourself. An LPA can only be used during your lifetime and cannot be used when you die. You can read more about LPAs here. It is important to remember that if you do not have a registered LPA in place when you have lost capacity your family, a friend(s) or anyone interested in your welfare (this may not be someone of your choice) may have to apply to the court for deputyship to help with managing your affairs which may be more time consuming and costly.
If you wish to prepare a Will and/or LPAs, please feel free to contact our expert solicitors at Johnson Astills who would be pleased to assist you with this. You can call us at our office in Leicester or our office in Loughborough. Alternatively, you may prefer to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.
