Great 'Unpleasant issues of age chat' Hunt

wealdroam

alan1025 wrote: »

One other benefit of a will writer is they can come to the home.

A local will writer visited her 3 or 4 times for various stages of the LPA's and WILL. Had I been needed to drive her to a local solicitor then each time I would have suffered a long journey - she lived 200 miles away.

Will a solicitor not do home visits?

Amazing!

jennifernil

kittie wrote: »

I find the `speaking down to` one of the most unpleasant issues of age. I feel like saying `for goodness sake I have a physics degree and can trade the stock market and lok after my dh`s pension etc but I don`t. This apple cheeked grey haired grandmotherly person just thinks it in her mind and has a secret smile. If only THEY knew

LOL, yes!

My children know better than to treat me like that, but I am not so sure about others!

We have the wills and the POAs sorted, now wondering about pre-paid funerals.

Any recommendations welcome.

luxor4t

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

.....There is something very sad about an elderly person with failing abilities, refusing help and desperately hanging on to the ever increasing complexities of trying to (failing to) manage their own affairs.

Absolutely agree - shame MiL doesn't

Errata

Struggling to manage affairs, and sometimes failing, is not exclusive to people over retirement age. Plenty of working age adults do it too.

1jeannie

I have been carer for my mother for 16years, she is now 89years old 2years ago my brother how has never had anything to do with her or her care got his lawyer to make her sign over power of attorney to him. I fear he is taking advantage of her she does not understand what this means.
She now receives no bank statements, has no cheque book or savings books and has no idea what her son is doing.

Errata

1jeannie wrote: »

I have been carer for my mother for 16years, she is now 89years old 2years ago my brother how has never had anything to do with her or her care got his lawyer to make her sign over power of attorney to him. I fear he is taking advantage of her she does not understand what this means.
She now receives no bank statements, has no cheque book or savings books and has no idea what her son is doing.

This organisation http://www.elderabuse.org.uk/Index.htm has a helpline, you may find it useful to discuss your fears with them.

airgead

1jeannie wrote: »

I have been carer for my mother for 16years, she is now 89years old 2years ago my brother how has never had anything to do with her or her care got his lawyer to make her sign over power of attorney to him. I fear he is taking advantage of her she does not understand what this means.
She now receives no bank statements, has no cheque book or savings books and has no idea what her son is doing.

It is my understanding that a Power of Attorney does not mean that your Mother has given away her own power to act (have a chequebook, etc). It means that her son has the authority to act on her behalf, but if she still has capacity, she can still make the decisions and hold the reins, so to speak. He also has a legal obligation to act in her best interests. Please talk to someone about your concerns and get some legal advice on your mothers behalf.

John_Pierpoint

1jeannie wrote: »

I have been carer for my mother for 16years, she is now 89years old 2years ago my brother how has never had anything to do with her or her care got his lawyer to make her sign over power of attorney to him. I fear he is taking advantage of her she does not understand what this means.
She now receives no bank statements, has no cheque book or savings books and has no idea what her son is doing.

The rest of us have to pay 120 GBP times two to take out a lasting power of attorney.
The forms and procedures are complex.
Other relatives are meant to be informed and given the opportunity to object.
All this has been done because of the abuses of the old Enduring Power of Attorney system.
Now you are telling us this bureaucratic system is not working?

http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/docs/opg506-05091.pdf
http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/concerns/concerns.htm

chrismale

I also saw a warning recently about 'free' will writers putting their firm in the will as executors of the estate, and then charging huge percentages of the estate or tens of thousands to do the work when the person dies! Beware!

kippygirl

Interesting points about will-writers -v- solicitors. For such an important legal document, I think it is essential to go to a solicitor. Anyone can call themselves a will-writer and can operate with no insurance and no comeback. Often a mistake in drafting the will might only come to light several years or even decades later.

A solicitor has spent 6 years qualifying as such and there is strict regulation of how they can operate. All solicitors are required to pay into the Solicitors Indemnity Fund which pays out if they make a mistake, even if this is years later and the individual solicitor is no longer around.

When you draft a will, you don't have to appoint a solicitor or company as executor. They can only be appointed if there is a clause in the will appointing them as executor and agreeing to pay their charges. Any company/solicitor adding themself into the will as executor without asking/advising about executorship should not be doing so. Personally, I would prefer only to appoint the main beneficiaries as executors. As others have said, it's not that difficult to sort out probate for a simple estate and if you did need help then you can simply go and pay by the hour for the help you need. On the other hand, if the deceased person has already appointed a solicitor/company as executor then you are stuck with them and it can get expensive. If you do want a professional person to sort out probate then be clear what the costs are likely to be and have this in writing.