News and Media

Lasting Powers of Attorney for Health and Welfare - Make sure your loved ones know your wishes

Lasting Powers of Attorney are legal documents that let individuals appoint one or more other people to make decisions on that individual’s behalf.

Delusions and Their Effect on Capacity to Make a Will

The recent case of Clitheroe v Bond [2021] EWHC 1102 (Ch) looked at the intriguing relationship between delusions, cognitive impairments and a testator’s capacity to make a Will.

Helping the Next Generation - Planning for the Future

As we start to look ahead after a turbulent 18 months, families are wanting to put plans in place for the future. The pandemic provided some with the time to reflect on their financial circumstances and consider their next steps.

Top tips for navigating your separation

Couples looking to permanently and formally separate (by way of divorce or dissolution) face a daunting amount of decisions and changes ahead. Where there are children involved, their wellbeing and the arrangements for their care moving forwards are key, together with interim living arrangements for the family as well as looking at the wider finances moving forwards.

I want to gift my home to my loved one now, during my lifetime

The above statement is one which I hear frequently. Clients often wish to protect their most valuable asset, their home, from being taken into consideration in means assessments by gifting it to their loved ones during their lifetime.

Beneficiaries right to information (costs consequences)

The extent to which a beneficiary is entitled to trust information is a frequent cause of friction between beneficiaries and trustees/executors.

Protecting your family farming business

When it comes to getting our affairs in order, such is our innate reluctance to think about death that many of us would rather put off something like making a Will “till tomorrow”.

Should I give my children my home to avoid paying for care

With our aging population increasing, a regular concern for clients is the possibility of having to move into a care setting and the financial stress that comes with working out how this care will be funded.

Deputyship Applications

It is devasting when a loved one loses mental capacity. They may no longer be able to manage their own affairs and relatives or close friends may worry about what to do in this situation. If a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) has previously been prepared, this means someone has already been appointed to take on the role of managing their affairs should they lose capacity.

Burials and Cremation

One of the areas that can exacerbate the already distressing situation following a death is where there is an argument about where the Deceased should be buried, or whether there should be a burial or a cremation.