Wills and Personal Affairs

Bowens can help with:

• Will preparation
• Living Wills
• Powers of Attorney
• Change of Name Deeds
• Pre-nuptial and Cohabitation agreements
• Legal issues affecting the Elderly 

 

WILLS

A Will ensures that what you wish to happen to your belongings, money, home, pets and even your body  will take place after your death. There are important formalities specified in the Wills Act 1837 and subsequent legislation that need to be observed in preparing and signing a Will; any Will that is not properly completed is invalid and will result in the ‘Intestacy Rules’ determining where your estate will end up - which may be very different from what you wished. Those Rules also come into play if a person dies without having made a Will at all. We will ensure that your wishes are fully reflected in your Will and that the necessary formalities are followed.

A Will is also particularly necessary if you have children still in education (or other dependants) so that there is certainty as to their future provision and care. A Will can also appoint Guardians for your children.

A Will can be prepared in such a way so as to reduce the Inheritance Tax that may otherwise be payable on the value of your estate and we can advise you of options open to you to achieve this, and prepare your Will accordingly.

LIVING WILLS

The term 'Living Will' is a broad one that covers a number of different types of 'Directives' made by a person to express their preference about medical treatment in the event of becoming incapable of making and communicating a decision about the treatment they should, or should not, have sometime in the future; whether that time be close by or likely to be in many years time.

Not all Living Wills are recognised by the law as valid and enforceable. A 'Refusal Directive' (an expression concerning the sort of treatment a person does not want) should be valid provided that certain conditions are fulfilled. A 'one size fits all' approach is not the way to prepare a Living Will and careful consideration as to the contents of the Will and the manner of it’s preparation is required.

 

POWERS OF ATTORNEY

A Power of Attorney can be executed to help with situations where it is necessary to give someone else authority to deal with your day-to-day affairs, or some specific item of your affairs. This may be because you are going to be away for some time or perhaps are finding it difficult to attend to such matters yourself for one reason or another.

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a type of power of attorney that ' endures ' even though you may subsequently become incapacitated so that the attorney you appointed can continue to deal with your affairs, although it is necessary to notify the Court of Protection when the incapacity becomes apparent. These types of power of attorney made before the 1st  October 2007 remain valid, but since that date it is not possible to make an Enduring Power of Attorney.

 A Lasting Power of Attorney can be made from the 1st  October and these can deal with a person's property and  affairs (like an Enduring Power of Attorney) and can also, if required, deal with issues concerning a person's health and welfare, and end of life decisions.There are a number of rules that must be followed when making a Lasting Power of Attorney which are primarily designed to safeguard people from  being put under undue pressure by others to give them the power of attorney. No steps can be taken by an attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney until the document has been registered at the Public Guardianship Office. 

CHANGE OF NAME DEED

An adult is broadly free to use any name they choose and it is not necessary to have a Deed prepared to confirm any new name that a person wishes to be known by. However for a number of reasons a person may want to have a Deed in order to evidence the new name, not least as issues of 'identity' become more and more relevant.

The position regarding changing the name of children is more complicated and a number of legal factors have to be considered when considering changing a child's name.

Usually a Deed for an adult can be prepared quickly and at a modest cost. Bowens can help with this and can usually offer a standard fee.

PRE-NUPTIAL AND COHABITATION AGREEMENTS

The purpose behind these agreements is to confirm and clarify which party to the relationship will get which assets should the relationship breakdown at some point in the future - and that the courts should not interfere in the process at that time. Whilst it is not legally possible to exclude the ability of the courts to intervene and make its own binding decision at the end of a marriage or civil partnership (if requested by one of the parties), the court may take into account the contents of a pre-nuptial agreement when making its own decision for division of the assets.

Those who are not proposing to get married to their partner or enter into a civil partnership, should consider a cohabitation agreement as the law can work harshly on one or both of the couple, no matter how long the cohabitation might have lasted if that relationship ends through a break up or death; a ‘common law’ spouse has very little in the way of rights and entitlements.

A cohabitation agreement is only available to unmarried or unregistered same sex couples, and differs from a pre-nuptial agreement in that no marriage or civil partnership is anticipated, when made at least. Such an agreement should be enforceable if properly drafted and completed to create legal effect between the parties, although there is no law that such agreements are enforceable automatically.

A couple contemplating cohabiting may be particularly interested in making a cohabitation agreement when either or both of them are bringing a significant asset, or assets, to the relationship. In the case of an asset such as a home, rights of ownership should be specified when the home is purchased or otherwise in a Declaration of Trust document.

 

ELDERLY PEOPLE

There is no separate law that relates specifically to elderly people, but there are various areas of the law that are particularly relevant to the issues and problems that elderly people face. These areas often include the following:

• Making a Will
• Making a Living Will
• Powers of Attorney
• Making gifts or loans to relatives and guarantees for their liabilities
• Housing and home ownership arrangements
• Estate and tax planning
• Physical or mental capacity problems
• Handling finances and day-to-day affairs
• Court of Protection and Receivership matters
• Long-term 'care' contracts.
• Accidents and medical treatment  
• Probate and Administration of Estates
• Deed of Variation to a deceased's Will 

Mark Bowen has over 25 years experience as a solicitor in private practice and is well placed to provide independent, sound and confidential legal help for the sort of issues and problems that many elderly clients face, or their relatives or close friends face - as it is often the case that they need help and advice in looking after their loved one's affairs.

In many cases difficulties and delays can be avoided, and costs saved, through considering the future management and arrangements of your affairs at an early stage and taking the steps now so as to assist others to help you in the future when you may not be so able.

A home, hospital or other venue meeting can be arranged as required.