Legal News | 12.01.23

New Year’s Resolutions: Ones you should keep

Now that the Christmas decorations are down, it’s the time of year when we make some New Year’s Resolutions and attempt to stick to them.

Somethings that may not spring to mind when making these lists are writing a Will and putting Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) in place. However, these are perhaps two of the most important things you could do this year to plan for the future.

Making a Will

Provided that you are 18 years or older, it is a good idea to have a Will regardless of your age. We recommend that this is regularly reviewed to ensure that it reflects your circumstances and wishes. Simple amendments to a current Will can be made in a short document called a codicil. However, if you have married since making your previous Will then, unless that marriage was specifically anticipated in your Will, the whole document has been revoked.

Making Lasting Powers of Attorney

There are two different types of LPAs, one for Property and Financial Affairs, and one for Health and Welfare. An LPA is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more person (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf. This gives you more control over what happens to you if you have an accident or an illness and can’t make your own decisions (you ‘lack mental capacity’). Making LPAs does not mean that you have lost capacity to make decisions, but it does mean that the necessary paperwork is in place should you lose mental capacity in the future.

If you would like more information on making a Will or LPAs, please contact your usual Wansbroughs contact or email the Private Client team at wealth@wansbroughs.com.