New Year’s Resolution for 2017

Have you made a Will or Lasting Power of Attorney?

Many of us put off making these for a number of reasons and promise ourselves that we will do this ‘in the future.’ However if we put off making such decisions for too long, sometimes these decisions can end up being made for us. In order to ensure that your wishes are carried out as you would like in the event of your death or mental incapacity, you should resolve to put these in place in 2017.

There are very good reasons for making a Will or reviewing an existing Will:
• you have married and a marriage or civil partnership automatically revokes an existing Will unless the Will was made in contemplation of marriage
• you have divorced or separated and therefore need to review your previous decisions
• with an increasing number of people having ‘second families’, it is important to make sure you have the correct legal advice to be certain that your children from all relationships are protected and treated as you wish
• to appoint Guardians for your children , especially if they are young
• you are unmarried and in a relationship – if you were to die, it is not automatic that your partner would inherit your assets
• you may be able to reduce any Inheritance Tax due on your assets

It is also important to consider making a Lasting Power of Attorney to ensure that you decide who you would like to make financial, legal or health and care decisions on your behalf in the event of mental incapacity.

A Solicitor-drafted Will or Lasting Power of Attorney is considered to be the gold standard – a badly drafted or incorrectly worded document could prove expensive or deemed to be invalid.

Our specialist Wills Team have a wealth of experience in dealing with such matters and are members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners – STEP. We are very proud to be the only Practice in Carmarthenshire to be members of the Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme of the Law Society –the optimum standard for Will Drafting.

We can draft Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney in Welsh and also offer free registration of your Will with Certainty, as well as free Wills and Deeds storage.

We also offer a no obligation 20 minute consultation with a specialist Solicitor to discuss making a Wills or Lasting Power of Attorney or to review your existing arrangements and have competitive fixed fees and packages for these services. If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please contact us on (01267) 237441 or e-mail us at mail@utk.co.uk.

Our Specialist Solicitors : Luned Voyle, Adam Bruce and Ceri Davies