As well as having a will, what should I have?

[Justajot]

DH and I need to update our wills. While we are doing this I think we should get whatever else is a good idea - to deal with us being unable to manage our own affairs and anything else that is useful to set up in advance. Unfortunately that is the extent of my knowledge. What are the other documents that people put into place and are they worth having please?

Lasting Powers of Attorney.

If your DH is, say, in a coma you can access his money and accounts etc to continue daily life.

DH has one for his DM too as she is elderly. So if she becomes unable to handle her own affairs he can step in.

Power of Attorney

When my DF was suddenly debilitated by a serious illness, what made the most difference to me was how organised his affairs were. Accounts clear, up to date and easy to find with list of passwords where needed. enough money in the Bank to cover payments until PoA goes through (sometimes months), clear lists of contacts, friends and family.

Thanks - is this the same thing as a "living will"?

No. LPA is where another person accesses financial affairs and can decide whether someone goes into a home if they have lost mental capacity and what the financial arrangements will be. It isn’t any form of Will.

I believe a living will (advance decision) is where health decisions are to the forefront. What you want and don’t want. Age Uk have very good info on all of this. So will a good solicitor - for a fee. You do need expert guidance for a LPA though in my view. It’s quite expensive to do, so don’t get it wrong.

Not quite. Living will (or advance decision) is all about what treatment you want and don't want in certain circumstances. It allows you to refuse treatment even if doing so will kill you, you sign an explicit statement that you understand that. Of course it does not allow euthanasia. It is legally binding if done correctly and does not cost anything. Look on the Dignity in Dying website for templates and info.

I made mine after reading 'Beyond the High Blue Air' and discovering the living hell that is the minimally conscious state. Sod that for an existence. It may also shorten the suffering if you get dementia as you can refuse resucitation or any treatment for infections in that case. You can specify exactly what situations apply to you - so that means relatives can say 'it is what he/she wanted' with confidence.

There are two types of LPA - health and welfare and financial. I disagree that you need guidance, it is all about what decisions you want to make and that is up to you. £82 each via gov.uk, the main hassle is finding the 'dramatis personae' to approve and witness. About £1500 if you use a solicitor. The forms guide you through exactly what to do in what order.

www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

financial LPA can be used while the donor is still compos mentis, it allows the 'attorney' to help out. Or you can get third party access to bank accounts if that is preferred.

health and welfare only triggers if the donor can't make their own decisions.

Thanks - I will take a look.

I have a "Letter of Wishes" for the Trustees of my Life Insurance Policy. It's not legally binding but it sets out what I'd like the money to be used for- eg for my DD.
In it I've listed places I've enjoyed visiting on holiday and would like her to get a chance to visit too, for example; I set out in detail where and how I want to be buried (eg: in organic cotton pyjamas in an organic cotton lined purple wool coffin) - much more detailed than the info in my Will; and I list all my major bank accounts, savings accounts, share trading accounts etc. So much is done online now that it may take a while for someone to track all that down otherwise. I just plan to update it and email my Trustees the new version every 5 years.

Both types of power of attorney. You can.access this online from the office of the public.guardian.
A living will which you can keep.safe and give.a copy to your gp.
Expression of Wish forms if you have pensions so any percentage .can be paid to those named.

We have just done LPAs and found explanations and choices easier to follow with a solicitor and its £82 for each type so that’s £164 per person. It’s worth taking advice as some decisions are not straight forward.

As I said, advanced decisions are about healthcare choices. So not what happens after death. Quite a good idea though.

Your workplace pension will have an Expression of wish/nominate a beneficiary form that you should definitely complete. A lot of the time this can be done online - means that your pension can be paid out very quickly to your chosen beneficiaries rather than sometimes wait months.
Make sure you do this for both your current employer and all previous employer pension schemes.

good point about finances and passwords. Sit down together and make a list of where all the money is, and make sure you know each other's email password. That way you can reset everything else.

and all bills should come out of a joint account, so it won't get frozen if one person dies.

BTW if you have two cars, have one registered to each person with each of you a main driver. Insurance dies with the main driver, can be sorted by contacting the bereavement department of the insurer but that won't be first on your list.

oh, and if you have children set up guardianship!!