More and more people reaching retirement age are making long term financial arrangements, such as pension drawdowns or equity release, which will require on going attention and decisions. The fact is, whether we like it or not, that the older we get, the more likely it is that we will suffer a physical or mental disability. While people generally understand the need to have a will because they know that death is an eventual certainty, the same is not true with the problems that can come with gradually growing older. As Sovereign Finance has been around quite a while, we do have many older clients. As a company, we have decided that we should recommend to all those reaching retirement age that they consider taking out a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). This is a legal document that lets someone appoint one or more people (who will be called “attorneys”) to help them make decisions, or make decisions on their behalf, should they become incapable of making the decision themselves. There are two types of LPA; one for managing health and welfare issues, and one for managing property and financial affairs. It is possible for a person to arrange an LPA for themselves for a cost of only about £110 or so. But where one’s affairs are complex, we would recommend that a solicitor be used. That will be considerably more expensive, but in the long term it may prove to be money well invested.
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