Writing a Will: It’s not as hard as you think
WRITING A WILL: IT’S NOT AS HARD AS YOU THINK In my 12+ years as a solicitor, I drafted Wills most days. My clients came from all walks of life and came with different personal and financial circumstances. Because I’ve had so much practice at drafting Wills, they’re second nature to me. I do though understand that it’s not the same for you. But trust me – you don’t need to feel that writing a Will is frightening or difficult. Yes, it’s true that some Wills need to have trusts and other special arrangements for families. But for most people, […]
Lasting Powers of Attorney – FAQs
Lasting Powers of Attorney – FAQs I have recently spoken at a few networking events about Lasting Powers of Attorney and I thought I should put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard!) and go through some of the common questions I am asked and give you my answers. I hope that it will help you to make an informed decision as to whether you should have a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place. WHAT IS A POWER OF ATTORNEY? An LPA is a legal document where you appoint people (your Attorneys) to act on your behalf when you […]
Girls About Town – Radio Interview on Wills
Girls About Town – Radio Interview on Wills Last week I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the lovely Girls About Town on Swindon 105.5 radio. I was discussing the importance of having a Will in place and came up with some common questions that I am asked by my clients. You can listen to the interview here. ARE WILLS ONLY FOR OLDER PEOPLE? One of the things that you can do in your Will is appoint legal guardians for your children who are under eighteen. So if you are a young family it is important to have a […]
Life before Death – what really matters?
ATUL GAWANDE – BEING MORTAL Living life to the fullest is important to me. I have just read “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande. It raises important issues about life before death. If you are told you have a terminal illness, how would you cope? How would your family manage? What actually matters in the end? What “trade offs” are you willing to make to prolong your life? How do you want to spend your last year, months or days? These are important questions that few people discuss until they have no choice. CHOCOLATE & FOOTBALL Atul Gawande is a surgeon […]
Coffee, Cake & Death – can you plan your own funeral?
The 11th of October 2016 saw the second death cafe at the Dojo Coffee House in Swindon. The event was organised by Sue Holden who is a Grief Recovery Counselor and Specialist. It might sound a bit morbid, but death is a certainty and in my line of work, I have to talk about it all the time. This is not normal for many of my clients. Writing a Will is like facing up to your own mortality and can be quite a difficult thing to undertake. This is one of the reasons why I support the Death Cafe and […]
Older People’s Day
I recently had the opportunity to take part in Bluebird Care’s celebrations of UK Older People’s Day which was on 1st October 2016. The event took place at the Ellendune Centre in Wroughton and Robert Buckland MP started off the proceedings with a speech recognising the local carers, charities, council and individuals that all help in their own way to provide care, advice, company and practical help to older people in Wiltshire. I was actually quite surprised at the number of local and national charities that provide care to the elderly in various ways. Many help with the transition from […]
Charity of the Year 2016
I am pleased to announce that my chosen Charity of the Year is Brighter Futures, the name of the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Charitable Fund. I chose this charity for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I have a close affinity to Great Western Hospital (GWH) as both my parents were in the medical profession and both worked at the old Princess Margaret Hospital in days gone by. I very much view GWH as a continuation of the great work carried out by our local Doctors, nurses and all staff who work there. Secondly, I recognise how much the […]
Have you started the Big Conversation yet
Dying Matters is an organisation based across England and Wales which aims to help people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement, and to make plans for the end of life. This week they are aiming to raise awareness of this and how important it is to have the “Big Conversation” about death and what you would like your plans to be. One way of doing this is by leaving your instructions in your Will, for example, if you would like to be buried or cremated. You can also leave a Letter of Wishes in which you state your […]
Dementia Awareness Week 2016
This week is Dementia Awareness Week and you may have seen and heard about this in the news. Many people contact me when they are worried about their parents, often because they have just been diagnosed with the early onset of Dementia or Alzheimers. These illnesses can be very traumatic for loved ones as well as the sufferer and practical problems can arise if a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is not in place. An LPA is simply a legal document that appoints Attorneys to act on your behalf and make day to day financial (Finance & Property LPA) and […]
Inheritance Tax
As you all know, David Cameron has been in the spotlight over inheritance tax and the issue of tax planning. Regardless of whether people think planning to mitigate your inheritance tax liability is morally correct, there are various things people can do to reduce an inheritance tax bill. They are legal and commonly used by families as part of their financial planning as a whole. Here are a just a couple of simple things you may not be aware of when considering tax planning. Of course, the information below is an overview and you will need to seek further professional […]