Lasting Power of Attorney
Wills & Power of Attorney
What Would Happen if You Were No Longer Able to Manage Your Finances?
For many, this can be a delicate and understandably uncomfortable subject. However, you can take solace in the knowledge that arranging your Power of Attorney will ensure that a trusted person properly supports you should you no longer have the mental capacity to manage your own affairs.
Furthermore, ensuring you have a legal will in place will make certain that your wealth and assets go to those you care about most. By not having a will in place, the management of your wealth will be regulated by the conventional rules of intestacy, which means the bulk of your estate might not go to who you want it to.
Without a Will
Most people put off writing a will. However, this can be one of the most important financial decisions you ever make.
When you don’t have a legal will in place, the management of your wealth (in the instance of your mental incapacity, coma or death) is regulated by conventional rules of intestacy. This means that your wealth is distributed according to guidelines which may not necessarily suit you.
For example, these rules do not necessarily guarantee that your spouse or living partner will automatically inherit all your possessions. In some cases all your wealth can even pass to the crown. View our intestacy rules chart for more information.
Why should your hard-earned money pass down to people or organisations you are not interested in protecting? It’s never too early to draw up a will to safeguard your wishes and protect the financial future of your family or your business.
At Cotswold Independent Financial Services, we work with people to draw up a will to reflect their wishes and give them, and their dependents, peace of mind. Contact our experts today to draw up your detailed personal will, or mirror will, which will allow you and your spouse to share rules of inheritance.
"Very happy with the advice and service I received."
Mrs Hendle
Lasting power of attorney (LPA) is when you have legally appointed a trusted person to manage your health, possessions or finances when you are no longer able to do so yourself. Without an LPA your spouse or family members will need to apply to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy to your case. This is often a lengthy, complicated and financially taxing procedure.
Property and Financial Affairs LPA
This allows the appointed attorney(s) to make decisions about daily finances and property.
If you do not have a Properties and Affairs LPA, your bank account might be frozen, meaning that your business partner, spouse, children or other family members and close associates will not have access to the capital they need to pay for necessary medical or legal bills, as well as potential funeral costs.
Health and Welfare LPA
With no Health and Welfare LPA your family will have no idea what kind of medical treatment you consent to and if you would prefer to live at home or in residential care if you need permanent care.
LPAs only come into effect when registered. The Health and Welfare LPA can only be used when you are no longer able to make your own decisions, while the Property and Finance LPA could be used straight away as long as you have given consent.
At Cotswold Independent Financial Services, our experts will show you how the people you trust can manage your finances if you become mentally or physically incapable of managing your own affairs due to illness or injury.
Don’t leave these important decisions up to chance. Contact us today to secure lasting power of attorney from a person you trust.
Estate Planning
Thorough future planning helps to ensure that the people you want to receive the benefit of your estate on your death do so. We can show you how to structure your financial situation so that your assets can pass to your beneficiaries with the least amount of Inheritance Tax being incurred.
We will assist your solicitor and executor with the settlement of your estate upon death and will support your family and help them deal with issues as they arise.
Our legal financial experts provide fast, convenient and simple:
Conventional Wills
Mirror Wills
Property and Financial Affairs LPA
Health and Welfare LPA