to ask about LPOA & WILL?

[TempNameForQuestion]

Hi, my insomnia keeping me awake, so thought I'd make use of the time.

I do have a will, tho my situation has changed since, and I feel is no longer "fit for purpose".

I'm now in my seventies, and a trusted friend has advised me it'd be a good idea for me to appoint a LPOA and simultaneously either adjust my current will, or create a new one from scratch.

My question is -

Would it be advisable to engage a professional to sort out LPOA for both my finances and my "care" as I continue to age.
OR
should I consider doing it myself without the help and advice of a professional?

I've not a clue the cost of engaging a professional, or if the service they could provide is worth what they charge.

I've also no idea if the complexity of me and my partner sorting such things together would have me anxious and feeling it'd be better to NOT have the worry.

Especially as it's not just the two aspects of LPOA, but my will update or change, too.

Not to influence any replies, but I do think I'm capable to a degree of DIY admin.
However I'm not even a quarter millionaire, so I don't want to unnecessarily pay for a service that most would consider to be very "doable" themselves.

🙏🏻 Thank you in advance.

LPOA is easily done on the government website, no need for a professional. You just have to make sure to follow the instructions carefully.

LPA is infinitely doable by yourself. It costs £82, you answer some questions online via gov.uk and then print, sign, post. It is all very user friendly.

No need for a professional. It is money for old rope for them as they are simply filling in the government form with the answers that they need to get from you.

I helped my mum do I hers. I hate form filling but managed it ok. My MIL paid a solicitor to do hers and the solicitor managed to mess it up and it had to be redone by someone else.

DH and I did our wills, POA and AD for £750 via lawyer. Happy it’s all done for me, perfectly capable of doing it myself but an extra cautious

Friend’s parents used a lawyer for LPOA - turned extremely complicated and took v capable friend ages to sort it out via the lawyers who were hard to deal with and wouldn’t even release the documents. Same actually with someone else I know who thought lawyer best route to save the ‘children’ having to bother and her son spent months trying to sort it via the lawyers who made such heavy weather of it all! In both cases, it wasn’t the LPOA that was complicated, as others have said - it was involving a lawyer. So I’d say do it yourself. With a will it may be best to get a pro to look it over but others will have more advice there. Good luck.

A couple of UK family members granted LPOAs last year. I agree, totally no need to use a solicitor: just follow the instructions. I think a solicitor who gets it wrong probably ought to find some other line of work.

We are a couple in our 70s for reference.

We did use a professional service for both wills and PoAs recently, but have friends who have done them on-line too. Just make sure you follow the instructions precisely - especially with regard to signing and dating the various bits of the PoA form. There was a delay of around 5 months caused by a backlog at The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) so factor this into your planning.

With regard to the wills, we were advised to make new ones as our old wills were outdated (a key beneficiary died unexpectedly). Start again with those to avoid confusion. Good luck.

LPA - do yourself but follow instructions to the letter. Get the finance and the health and welfare one.

Will - lawyer up. Especially as you refer to a partner (does this mean not married/civil partnership?)

Thank you for your reply.

Excuse me but what's AD ?

If it's obvious, it may be my lack of sleep that's blocked my brain on that one 🤦‍♀️

I’ve done a couple of POA now and they are simple to do the tricky part is making sure they are signed in sequence by the individuals appointed

For a will I just had one made and it was £125 and included some complication due to tenants in common and right to remain in home though my share will pass to trustees

Thank you.

At the moment we are simply living together, nothing legal in place.

We have been together many years, and marriage has been proposed, but has been on hold because of a condition he unfortunately developed which nearly ended his life.

So the whole updating my will, or doing one from scratch, and addressing LPOA for both the finance and health aspects, has been very much put on hold, due to the precarious nature of his recovery etc.

Actually you have made me wonder how my will (if made before we marry), would be affected by the contract of marriage, does that mean I should do my will AFTER marriage?
I only have one other beneficiary upon my death, so more or less, my assets will be split between them.
When my curt will was drawn up the original beneficiary would have been willed 100% of my assets, less costs.

I so appreciate yours and others input.

I would see a solicitor or paralegal for your will now and separately look into preparing the LPA ( lasting power of attorney) on the gov website.
The LPA it’s easy to do yourself if you have family/ friends willing to act as attorneys but helps if you have the support of someone who’s done one before.
Both health and financial LPAs can be started and saved on the website once you have an account; I chose to print them out for signing then posted them but the documents can be sent to you for signing if you’ve not got access to a printer.

You should go to a solicitor for your will then. They can put in wording so you can do it in advance of your marriage (they did with mine). Find a solicitor who is STEP accredited.

EmotionalSupportPotato

Thank you... what does STEP accredited mean?

So it's a professional body of estate practitioners they can register with them. Basically you want a proper solicitor who can deal with estates and probate not someone who just does wills as a sideline but isn't a solicitor

Hi when you say I need family or friends to act as attorneys, do you mean witnesses?
If yes how many witnesses, and does that mean they get to know my private wishes and arrangements?

EmotionalSupportPotato

Thank you so much 😊

The attorney is the person you're giving the power to. You will need seperate witnesses. They will have to watch you sign the document so yes they could be aware of the contents. You could do this at the solicitors instead if you wanted and they will provide witnesses.

EmotionalSupportPotato

Again, thank you.

You have clarified the issue.

I "feel" somewhat stupid for not knowing what to some people is simple.

So may I ask, in your opinion marriage first or will and the two aspects of LPA first?

I was rather thinking that marriage should be after, because it's going to take a long time for him to recover enough to get fit for the event, and him being my LPOA is important to me, due to my (maybe irrational) fear of sudden dementia or similar.

There's a mumsnetter who is a solicitor and specialises in will writing. We've used her twice. She's excellent:

www.marlowwills.co.uk/

AD is Advance Directive. Basically this sets out my wishes regarding illness eg whether I want to be given life saving treatment if I’m unable to say yes or no for myself. Eg 90 years old and have heart attack- I have said no to attempting to resuscitate me.Takes the decision out of anyone loved ones hands.

Thank you everybody, for your opinions, and for sharing your experiences
I am somewhat clearer as to my next move forward.
Hooray for helpful mumsnetters.
🥰