Have you set up Powers of Attorney

Martin Lewis, the ‘money saving expert’ spoke to Adrian Chiles on his  BBC show, recently  about the importance of LPAs and of making a will

As Martin Lewis explains, failing to make a will (for anyone, but particularly for unmarried couples) can cause terrible problems, and can means that the people whom you love and want to look after are entitled to nothing.

Mr Lewis also flags up the importance of getting proper legal advice from a solicitor, and the risks inherent in ‘going it alone’’, which sadly can result in very expensive errors being made.

Setting up Powers of Attorney ensure that if you become unable to make your own decisions, the person or people that you trust, and who you have chosen, will be able to do so on your behalf. If you don’t set up PoA’s, and do later become unable to make your own decisions, then your family will have to follow an expensive and stressful process to apply to the Court of Protection to allow them to look after your affairs. This is far more costly than paying for a PoA to be drawn up. A PoA also lets you give guidance in advance about the things which are most important to you, to help your attorney make the decisions that are not only in your best interests, but also which, as far as is possible, are based on your own stated wishes as well.

Many of those calling the radio show spoke of having found themselves unable to deal with the financial affairs of a parent or loved one, perhaps to cover care fees, and learning too late that having a Power of Attorney would have made things so much easier.

Mr Lewis says “Solicitors are brilliant. If you can afford to do so, go to a solicitor”

At FDC Law, our friendly and expert Private Client department can help you with these issues. Whether it is making or updating your will, drawing up Powers of Attorney or helping you to deal with an application to the Court of Protection if you are dealing with a family member who did not set up a Power of Attorney, and who has since lost capacity to deal with their own affairs, we can guide you through the steps needed.

Contact any of our offices for further information or to make an appointment.

The BBC show can be found here, http://bbc.in/2fQEHAO    (the relevant segment starts at  2.19.55), and is available to listen to until 13^th December 2016.