I want to begin this article by stating that I consider myself apolitical. The processes around politics seem to me a negative-sum game for the incompetent, the punchable and the lost. I vote with pragmatism and disloyalty. Notwithstanding, some of you may remember old Etonians, David Cameron and George Osbourne. What you probably recall about …
Some facts and figures about Wills
For the analytically inclined, I’d like this week to lay out, in numbers, a picture of Britain’s comparative ‘unpreparedness’ with respect to end of life by demonstrating some facts about Wills. You probably haven’t got an up to date will. 31 million people in the UK have no will, 84% of those under 35 have …
Expect the unexpected. Addressing estate planning and mortality.
Life is comic in texture and tragic in structure. Nobody likes to think about the certainty of our own demise. Nobody likes to think about estate planning and mortality. It goes against millions of years of evolution to consider not being around. In truth, however, as social beings, our worlds extend beyond ourselves. Those we …
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Lasting Powers of Attorney
When should I make Lasting Powers of Attorney? Subject to certain caveats, that I’ll come back to, you need to do this now. Here, I’m going to explain why. Firstly, and for absolute clarity, lasting powers of attorney (“LPAs”) allow you to appoint those you trust to act in your place, on critical financial and …
Upsells and Wills, what to watch out for.
A number of clients contact us, having been upset by requests for payment of much greater sums than anticipated (known as an upsell), by a supplier engaged to make their Will. In this article I want to look at situations in which pricing opacity and disparity prove problematic. Before I begin, I should make clear …
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7 Reason to Write Your Will in 2022
The Estate Planning industry struggles with the somewhat unenviable notion that the services we perform require our clients to reflect on a time when they are not around. Nobody likes doing this, and we find that it is almost always an external event that gives someone pause to reflect and get their affairs in order. …
7 things to avoid with your Will
Will Non-exhaustively! Putting it off. People hate doing it and making a will usually enters our consciousness at a moment of existential horror. It goes against all of our hopes an instincts. If it’s on your radar, and you’ve some momentum, guard it jealously and keep going! ‘Sideways disinheritance’ is all too common. Mr …
What Decisions can an LPA make?
Here I answer the question: “what decisions can an LPA make” (i.e. an appointed attorney)? Broadly, powers granted by an LPA are far reaching, however, they are constrained, not only by law but by the rights of other interested parties. Attorneys have wide ranging powers to step into the shoes of a donor Attorneys must …
Does an LPA override a will?
Asking ‘does an LPA override a will’, represents something of a ‘category error’, by which I mean that the two documents are not designed to be active at the same time, so would not usually conflict (at least directly). The LPA is used in life and a will is used in death. Notwithstanding, attorneys …
Can GP overrule power of attorney?
This question (“Can GP overrule power of attorney?”), may be informed by two further questions: 1. “is the person who gave the Power of Attorney, capable of making the decision themselves” and 2. “is the decision in the best interests of that person”? Attorneys must act in the best interests of donors. Attorneys may not …