GETTING OLDER

It happens. It is a bit hard to avoid! A useful checklist for putting matters in order along the way could be as follows:

1. Get a Will made, if you have not already done so. Dying without a will leaves a problem for those left behind. If the will was made more than 5 or 10 years ago, review it.

2. Get a Lasting Power of Attorney done. Most people have had the experience with a family member or friend where they reached a point where they could not deal confidently with key decisions regarding their health or finances and would benefit from help from someone they can trust. The Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) puts an arrangement in place so that the named person or persons can act on their behalf.

3. If you are single and your possessions, including your property, are worth in excess of £325,000, or if you are married and the value of your joint estate exceeds £650,000, find out how Inheritance Tax affects you and see if there are some simple actions you can take to minimise or avoid gifting Inland Revenue 40% of part of your estate.

THE TIME LORD AND WILLS

Do you know that you can go back up to 2 years before a person died and make amendments to their will? You can use what is called a Deed of Variation. As long as all the beneficiaries agree to the proposed changes, the will can be altered either to save on tax or just to make the result fairer to all beneficiaries. Of course, there does need to be a will in the first place, so do make sure you have one and it is up to date. (And do think seriously about arranging LPAs – Lasting Powers of Attorney).

SUMMERTIME TIPS

While there are a lot of changes on the horizon politically we believe that that best way to deal with personal finances is keep to the basics of providing a valuable service or product and ensuring that you have more money coming in than going out.

Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPAs) and Wills – reminder. It may be that the older one gets the more aware one is of older people and the challenges that come in later life. Certainly we do see more situations where Wills and LPAs (Lasting Power of Attorney) are important. We do recommend that you seriously consider setting these up or reviewing them if you already have them.

STAYING UP TO DATE

Recently when completing our Lasting Power of Attorney, my wife and I had occasion to review our Wills. Written 25 years ago, needless to say that they needed updating for various reasons including the fact that one of the executors we had appointed to look after our children had recently passed away. The moral of the story is to do a regular review of these important matters.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT TO THINK ABOUT

Death and incapacity are not popular subjects to think about or discuss but it is only right to consider how others close to you might be affected by your death or incapacity. Many have not written a will and the vast majority of people have not considered the effects of not setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in case one is still living but not able to make decisions on matters regarding their health or finances.

A recent case outlined by a firm of solicitors concerned a family with husband and wife in their mid-70s with two children and 3 grandchildren. They had written their wills but despite the recommendations of their financial adviser, they had not taken out an LPA. The husband suffered a sudden and unexpected stroke which left him effectively unable to make decisions. As many of his financial matters were in his sole name including his pension and investments, his wife could not take action to deal with his and the family’s needs. Even the financial adviser was not able to act on her behalf in respect of the husband’s financial matters as her husband had not given him authority to do so before he suffered the stroke.

They had to apply to what is called the Court of Protection which deals with such matters and is able to award powers to someone they deem appropriate in the form of a Deputy Order. The decision as to who was to be appointed was completely in the hands of the Court of Protection. It took several months to arrange and the costs of getting the Deputy Order was £3,243 and the estimated annual costs of the Deputy Order was about £1,500. Until that was set up the family had no say over the husband’s financial affairs or his medical treatment and rehabilitation.

There are two parts to an LPA. One is Health and Welfare and concerns medical treatment and related matters. The other is Property and Financial Affairs which deals with financial decisions and assets such as houses. One or both can be done. If done by a professional, which we would recommend, setting up an LPA is likely to cost in the region of £300 to £400.

GETTING OLD

It happens. A useful checklist for putting matters in order when dealing with someone who is getting old (even yourself!) could be as follows:

1. Get a Will made. Dying without a Will leaves a problem for those left behind.

2. Get a Lasting Power of Attorney made. Most people have had the experience with a family member or friend where they reached a point where the friend or family member could no longer deal confidently with key decisions regarding their health or finances and would benefit from help from someone they can trust. The Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) puts an arrangement in place so that the named person or persons can act on behalf of their friend or family member.

3. Make a plan regarding any Inheritance Tax that might have to be paid when you die. For those who

add up the value of their estate including property value and find it is less than £325,000, a simple note showing what you added up – the items and their values, would probably be enough of a plan.

THINKING AHEAD!

We cannot stress enough the importance of thinking ahead when you get to the age which qualifies as ”older”. This is very much a personal matter but if we are blessed with a long life, it is likely that the time will come when we will need help – whether that be physical help or help in looking making decisions about finances. We would recommend that those reaching retirement age look into Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPAs). These allow you to appoint who you want to help you, should the time come when you need help.

In thinking ahead, making a Will is also a vital action, but that should be done really as soon as you start a family or acquire assets that you would want to pass down to specific people.

Looking After Each Other

It is an unfortunate fact that eventually we are all likely to reach a point where we will need help either physically or in looking after our other affairs. If you have not already made enquiries about Lasting Powers of Attorney, we certainly advise that you do look into it and inform yourself

about them. A reliable source of information is gov.uk’s “Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney”