Arranging Will & Lasting Power of Attorney

NurseMoneySaver1122

Hi

I’m considering the below options in order to get a will and lasting power of attorney (LPA) sorted for my partner and I. We have a 1 year old together and savings and are soon to apply for a mortgage.

Any advice on going down these routes would be REALLY welcomed, as we are clueless!!! Any red flags, what to look out for or avoid. We just don’t want to end up with something that isn’t worth the paper it’s written on!

WILL OPTION:

A charity I volunteer for has advertised Free Wills through sbishestateplanning.com in return for a small donation their charity. When I emailed asking whether now is the right time to arranage a will, he confirmed yes, citing @rules of intestacy" and guardianship as reasons, advising on "drafting a pair of mirror wills". Next step is to call him for a chat.

LPA OPTION:

Been told about Paying £82 through gov.uk. Then either pay a solicitor to witness (no idea of cost), or apparently it does not have to be a solicitor, can just be a professional or someone who has known us for over 2 years or even places like Willrite will witness for a small donation.

Any advice welcomed!!!

lisyloo

Seems like sound advice.
sounds like you are not married so it’s all a good idea.

you don’t need to pay someone to witness the LPAs.
you just need a friend who’s willing to confirm you are of sound mind and not under duress.
You can do the LPAs yourselves, just follow the notes in the pack.

note that there are 2 LPAs - one is for finance and one is for health & welfare.
so it will be £82 x 4.

Id say the will should be your priority and yes should say who you want to take care of your child if you both die.

the only thing I’d add is getting replacement executors and attorneys preferably someone younger.
if you put someone older or your own age then they might pre-decease you.

also I would suggest multiple attorneys can act jointly or severally I.e. they don’t all have to agree to get anything done. This isn’t just for if there is disagreement but if say someone is abroad or in hospital.

Savvy_Sue

I'd recommend using a 'proper' solicitor rather than a will-writing service for your wills: I don't know what the arrangement with 'your' charity is, but take a look at the article on the main site: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/free-cheap-wills/

Definitely with lisyloo: if not married, and if buying property together, a will is ESSENTIAL. 

NurseMoneySaver1122

@Savvy_Sue It is through sbishestateplanning.com.

His "About Me" section states "I am a full member of the the Society of Will Writers and a Fellow of the Institute of Paralegals.  As well as being fully insured to provide a professional and personal service". 

So by your advice, you would refrain from using him and use a solicitor instead?

NurseMoneySaver1122

@lisyloo Can i clarify what you meant by the 2 paragraphs below...

1) "replacement executors and attorneys"? Are these the people that I choose to help me sort my will/LPA or in addition to?  Also, if they do pre-decease me, what happens then?

2) I don't understand what you mean by this paragraph (I'm sorry, I'm so clueless!).

"the only thing I’d add is getting replacement executors and attorneys preferably someone younger.
if you put someone older or your own age then they might pre-decease you.

also I would suggest multiple attorneys can act jointly or severally I.e. they don’t all have to agree to get anything done. This isn’t just for if there is disagreement but if say someone is abroad or in hospital"

elsien

When you make an LPA, you choose people who can act for you when you want them to or when you lose capacity.
Once the LPA is made you can’t change those people without making a new LPA so you need to think carefully beforehand about who you want them to be.  In your case you would be wise to have a second person other than your partner as your attorney as well in case your partner is unable to act for any reason. Or have someone named as a replacement attorney so that if your main person dies or loses capacity then you have someone else who can step in.
You can choose whether your attorneys can act independently of each other, or whether they have to make joint decisions that they both/all agree on. If you want attorneys to act jointly you run the risk of the power-of-attorney being useless if they fundamentally disagree on what you might want and hit an impasse.

Anyone who knows you well enough can be a certificate provider for an LPA. It doesn’t have to be someone professional, just someone who can confirm that you know what are you doing and you’re not being coerced. My mother just used her next door neighbour for hers.

Ms_Chocaholic

Nothing much to add other than the great advice that has already been given.

If you register for an LPA account here https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney you can have a few trial runs of completing the LPA paperwork, after completing it you can easily delete and start again.  Nothing will happen until it's printed, signed and sent off/paid for/registered.

lr1277

To further expand on lisyloo's point, I don't know who you are planning on making the executor of your will, but please bear in mind, that if you have only one executor (your partner say) and they die shortly after you, then their executor gets to adminster their will and your will as well. So if you are each other's only executor and you both die within a short time of each other, there will be problems.

So as suggested above, either have more than one executor or have a replacement executor. Depending on who you ask to be your executor, if you have also made your partner your executor, you should agree with the other executors they are ok with adminstering both wills at the same time, just in case.

Hopefully I have put that in a way that is understandable.

HTH

Savvy_Sue

NurseMoneySaver1122 said:

@Savvy_Sue It is through sbishestateplanning.com.

His "About Me" section states "I am a full member of the the Society of Will Writers and a Fellow of the Institute of Paralegals.  As well as being fully insured to provide a professional and personal service". 

So by your advice, you would refrain from using him and use a solicitor instead?

Personally, yes. I am sure the SWW and FIPs are both very worthy bodies, but they are no substitute for the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, who will 'take over' and pass your business on to another solicitor if your original choice turns out to be a bad one / goes bust / retires / dies etc. 

You can still get it done 'free' for a donation to charity: see the article on the main site https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/free-cheap-wills/