But what happens if your decisions need to be made on your behalf whilst you are still living? A Will won’t assist in such circumstances but having an LPA should.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document where you as the Donor appoint someone (usually close relatives or friends) to be your Attorney(s) to make certain decisions on your behalf including when you lack mental capacity.

So, by putting an LPA in place now, means you essentially retain a degree of control – Naturally, you would only appoint people you trust to carry out your wishes and who will always act in your best interests. You can also place restrictions or conditions on the face of the document itself.

There are two types of LPA:

1. A Property and Financial Affairs LPA which allows your Attorney(s) to make decisions about paying bills, dealing with the bank, collecting benefits, selling your house, etc; you can make an LPA to be used for financial decisions while you still have mental capacity.
2. A Health and Welfare LPA which allows your Attorney(s) to make decisions regarding treatment, care, medication, where you live, etc. You can create this LPA to be used only if you can no longer make your own decisions – known as losing ‘mental capacity’.

Currently, almost 1 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with dementia and this figure is rising. It’s anticipated that 1 in 3 individuals over 65 will suffer from some form of dementia and if capacity becomes an issue, it may not be possible to put an LPA in place at that stage. This means that your loved one is then left with the costly alternative of applying to the Court of Protection to become your Deputy (Deputyship). This is a slow process, taking 4-6 months once the paperwork has been completed, and while awaiting the outcome your affairs may be in a state of limbo. Preparing an LPA in a timely fashion could therefore also save your family a lot of stress, pressure and unnecessary expense.

As for accidents, every 90 seconds someone is admitted to hospital in the UK with a brain injury – traffic or contact-sport accidents are examples of what can go wrong. Once completed and registered, an LPA can be used if you suffer a physical infirmity for example in a serious accident, but you regain control of making your own decisions once you recover.

So, an LPA isn’t simply to be considered just by the elderly, although of course it allows you to plan in advance so that other people of your choosing may make decisions on your behalf at a point in time when you might lose the capacity to make those decisions yourself.

If you would like more information, or are looking to put an LPA in place, please contact our friendly team of experts who will be happy to talk to through the process.

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Quite often after we have completed a Will for a client, they comment that it was a much easier process than they had envisaged, & it was something on their “to do list” that they should have completed months or even years before.

Completing a Will is thought to be a daunting experience with having to consider what happens after you pass away, however, it is an important process and task on your to do list to complete, not only to ensure your wishes take place but also to ensure your loved ones are protected.

Our friendly and down to earth Private Client Team will make the process as straightforward and unnerving as possible.

Contact us to book your appointment & get that to-do list ticked off. We have local offices in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common & Southam

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Every day, Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) critical care paramedics, doctors & pilots respond to around ten emergency missions. They land fast at the scene of road traffic collisions, falls at home, strokes, cardiac arrests, sports injuries & industrial incidents. Wherever they’re needed. Whatever the call. They also operate the region’s critical care cars.

Surprisingly, they don’t get a penny from the government or the National Lottery for their daily missions. Each mission costs £2,300 & every pound comes from donations.

Our private client team see many of our Will clients wishing to leave a legacy donation in their Will to both local & national charities. Gifts in Wills are vital for most charities. Despite this, a good many people aren’t even aware of this form of giving.

If this is something you are thinking of & you require Will services, then please get in touch with one of our highly experienced & friendly team.

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Saher, who is based in our Balsall Common office, joined BTTJ in February, after developing her career at other law firms across Warwickshire.

She has quickly impressed partners and colleagues and has now been promoted to become head of the firm’s private client department.

Saher will still be based at Balsall Common but will work across all four of the firm’s offices with the team.

Richard Stanford, managing partner for the private client team, said: “Saher has made a real impact since joining us, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge that has benefited the company and our clients.

“We are therefore very pleased to reward her efforts with this promotion. She will now be working closely with the team and the partners to develop the department further.”

Saher first qualified as a solicitor in 2002 and became an expert advisor on Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, estate planning and the administration of estates, gaining her TEP qualification from the Society of Trust and Estates Practitioners (STEP).

She said: “I’ve really enjoyed my time here at BTTJ since February, and I’m now looking forward to working with the partners to lead and develop a team that already has an excellent reputation.”

Congratulations Saher, from all of your colleagues at BTTJ!

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Upon looking further into these adverts, many of these companies that offer “Local Will Writing for Coventry Residents” for example, are not local at all – in fact one of the companies we found were actually based in Gibraltar!

As a firm of solicitors, you would expect us to advise you to use us to write your Will…. And that is true – but we explain our reasonings for this below.

What is the difference between Will writing companies and Solicitors?

The main difference between Will writing companies and solicitors is that anyone can become a Will writer – many aspects of planning are non-regulated, meaning anyone can write a Will, regardless of training or expertise – whereas Solicitors are regulated and have to adhere to strict codes of conduct. It is unlikely that Will writers are fully legally qualified, but if they’re a member of a recognised trade body, they have at least been trained in Wills and estate planning.

An experienced Solicitor or Chartered Legal Executive undergoes years of study, training and practice to assist clients, they will firstly obtain a full understanding of your family dynamics and financial circumstances, and with this insight will then offer tailored Will advice as to the type of Will – be it basic or more complicated – that meets your needs and does so in the most tax-efficient way. They will also oversee the signing and witnessing of your Will to make sure that the process is properly carried out and can advise on additional services to complement a Will, such as a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or Trusts. They have also good professional relationships with other local professionals such as financial advisors if required.

Solicitors firms are members of The Law Society and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The SRA regulate all solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales. They protect and help the public by making sure solicitors and law firms meet their high standards, they take action against solicitors who don’t follow their rules – for instance, by taking someone’s money or acting dishonestly and people can get their documents and money back, if, for example, a law firm shuts down suddenly. If an issue were to arise regarding the validity of your Will, you have the security of the regulation authorities, alongside this, solicitors are required by law to have adequate professional indemnity insurance.

Members of our team have STEP accreditation – STEP members are internationally recognised as experts in their field, with proven qualifications and experience. As specialists in inheritance and succession planning, STEP members draft Wills and trusts, administer estates, act as trustees and advise families on how best to structure their finances to ensure compliance and best preserve their assets for future generations.

What is more, we work in partnership with Certainty the National Will Register. This allows us to register your Will, which is included in our fee, as well as Will search and Will Management services.

DIY Wills

You may have also seen that you can purchase ‘DIY Wills’ online or even from shops. Are they legally binding? It depends! The validity of a Will depends on certain requirements being met, including that the person making the Will has adequate mental capacity to make it in the first place. A simple mistake in the drafting of a Will can potentially render it invalid.

DIY Wills can cause many problems even if they are perfectly valid and appear relatively simple. They can become outdated very quickly without professional advice and future planning, and are often made without taking into account important factors that a trained professional would identify.

Depending on you and your beneficiaries’ circumstances, a very basic DIY Will could end up costing a great deal of money to your beneficiaries once you have passed, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. The law about inheritances and how they are taxed can be complex and things might change between when you write your will and when you die. That makes it risky to write your own Will without professional advice.

Charity Wills

We are all for leaving a charity donation in your Will, in fact it can even help with reducing inheritance tax bills. We regularly draft Wills for clients that include donations to charities, and we also take part in ‘Will weeks’ for local charities. However, charity Wills tend to only suit those needing very basic Wills. If your Will is considered to be more complex, such as involving high-value assets, inheritance tax planning, blended families, or business ownership, going directly to a solicitors’ firm is the best option to provide tailored advice to benefit both yourself and your beneficiaries in the future.

To summarise

In summary, a professional service will ensure your Will does what you want it to do. Free online or cheap Wills are not up to ensuring your wishes are respected and may well trigger a legal battle between loved ones. Getting a professional Will written can lead to peace of mind about your money going to the right people cost effectively. At BTTJ, our aim, quite simply is to make sure that you have a properly drafted Will in place and with it, peace of mind knowing that on your death, your estate will pass to your intended beneficiaries. As the saying goes… you get what you pay for!

If you require Will services, then please get in touch with one of our highly experienced and friendly team.  Our Will specialists will take the time to understand your individual circumstances and will provide you with tailored advice.

Unlike the cheap Will writing adverts we have seen; we are truly local! We have offices in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common and Southam and our lawyers work across the whole of the Coventry and Warwickshire region. We can trace our beginnings back to 1797 and since then, we’ve not stopped developing great relationships with our clients.

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Lead Solicitor Helen Strong, says many people think digital assets are just NFTs and cryptocurrency.

“During the initial stages of putting a Will together we ask about digital assets and most people wave us on saying they don’t have any, thinking they don’t need to worry about them.

However, the truth is far more complicated because virtually all of us have an extensive digital footprint that must be taken into account.   Professionals and business owners may have business-critical access to data, such as information held in an email account or a password-protected database, document, or trading account.

It therefore may be wise to nominate a digital executor or manager who can access and manage your digital assets after your passing. You may also wish for a beneficiary to have access to social media accounts, subscription services, and online shopping accounts.”

Helen recommends leaving a list of passwords and usernames in a secure place for the executors – and ensure you tell your executors where to find it – as access issues can cause serious problems and delays. She also advises you to regularly backup your digital assets to the cloud and/or a portable storage device.

If you own cryptocurrency, be careful to leave instructions and security data for your cryptocurrency wallet.

“We have all seen the news stories of people who have lost log-in data or personal electronics that held valuable Bitcoin and have no proof of ownership or way of accessing it. Don’t let that happen to your beneficiaries.

Then there are more personal access issues, such as photos stored digitally on the cloud and whether social media accounts are shut down or memorialised.

Coping with death is hard enough as it is for trustees and your loved ones, and incorporating digital assets into your post-death planning will remove a potentially upsetting complication or barrier to the estate administration.”

If you require Will services, then please get in touch with one of our highly experienced and friendly team.  

Our Will specialists will take the time to understand your individual circumstances and will provide you with tailored advice.

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Saher joined us today as a Solicitor in our Private Client Department, based in our Balsall Common office.

Saher qualified as a solicitor in 2002 and has gained TEP qualification from the Society of Trust and Estates Practitioners (STEP).

She is able to advise on Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Estate Planning.  Saher also deals with the administration of estates.

Saher spends 100% of her time dealing with Private Client matters.

Welcome to the firm Saher, from all at BTTJ!

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The call comes at a time when, according to the National Wills Report 2024, only 57% of men and 50% of women have written a Will.

With the first month of 2025 out of the way, getting a professional Will written can lead to peace of mind about your money going to the right people cost-effectively.

A Will ensures that all of your wishes are implemented, and streamlines the succession process for your family and friends – an important consideration as they struggle with grief.

The absence of a Will could lead to a distribution of assets that go against your wishes and may incur unnecessary inheritance tax.

A Will is vital at all ages, with younger people often gaining significant assets earlier in their careers than in the past. Younger people are also more likely to have more diverse assets and complicated family structures.

A well-written Will can take into account the effect a lump sum may have on beneficiaries that are on state benefits, and implement measures to mitigate them, such as putting a trust in place. It can also incorporate divorces and separations, children from other relationships, care and medical issues, tax, and help protect inherited family wealth, which is particularly important when accounting for changes to inheritance tax law.

The absence of a Will may lead to an unwelcome distribution of assets. Under UK law, the state decides who your estate must go to, this could be someone you did not want it to go to, whilst a loved one you intended to benefit ends up with nothing.

A professional service will ensure the Will does what you want it to do. Free online or cheap Wills are not up to ensuring your wishes are respected and may well trigger a legal battle between loved ones.

It may feel a bit morbid, but it is important to think of your Will as if you’re going to die tomorrow.

If you require Will services, then please get in touch with one of our highly experienced and friendly team.  Our Will specialists will take the time to understand your individual circumstances and will provide you with tailored advice. We have offices in Coventry, Warwick, Southam and Balsall Common and our solicitors work across the whole of the Coventry and Warwickshire region and beyond.

Article written by Lead Solicitor in our Private Client department, Helen Strong.

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Quite often after we have completed a Will for a client, they comment that it was a much easier process than they had envisaged, & it was something on their “to do list” that they should have completed months or even years before.

Completing a Will is thought to be a daunting experience with having to consider what happens after you pass away, however, it is an important process and task on your to do list to complete, not only to ensure your wishes take place but also to ensure your loved ones are protected.

Our friendly and down to earth Private Client Team will make the process as straightforward and unnerving as possible.

Contact us to book your appointment & get that to-do list ticked off. We have local offices in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common & Southam.

The post New Years Resolution…. appeared first on Brindley Twist Tafft & James.

Jaz Virk, Solicitor and Head of our Private Client team says:

“We’re delighted to be part of this year’s Remember A Charity Week.

We know that leaving a gift in this way can not only be an important way of supporting good causes, but it’s such a rewarding way for our clients to give back.”

Offering generous tax incentives, this form of charitable giving is on the rise, and provides essential funding for vital services across the country – both now and for future generations. In fact, around £3 in every £10 donated to charity comes through gifts in Wills. Within the current economic climate, these donations make a huge difference and really have become crucial for thousands of charities and community organisations. In fact, some of the nation’s most loved charities simply wouldn’t exist without such gifts.

Thanks to the generous acts of everyday people, the UK ‘Willanthropy’ movement continues to grow – with around 100 people a day across the UK now choosing to leave a gift to charity in their Will. By working together with Remember A Charity, BTTJ hopes to inspire even more clients to consider what they wish to be remembered for.

Remember A Charity Week (9-15 September 2024) is an annual celebration of the power and impact of legacy giving. Throughout the week, campaign partners, solicitors, Will-writers, charities and others will be championing the legacy message, encouraging people across the country to help build a brighter future by leaving a gift in their Will.

If you’ve not got round to the important task of making your Will yet, or have an existing Will which needs updating, please contact our friendly Private Client Team, with offices in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common & Southam we are happy to assist.

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