Yes. We store your Will securely at no extra cost, so it’s easy to find when your family needs it.

Yes, there's a registration fee charged by the Office of the Public Guardian of £92 per document. However, some individuals might qualify for a fee reduction or exemption based on their financial situation.

General
You (the donor) make a GPA and nominate attorneys to act for you but it ends if you lose capacity or revoke it. This can only be for property and financial affairs.

Enduring
Pre-October 2007, you made an EPA to nominate attorneys to act for you if you lost capacity. This could only be for property and financial affairs. It must be registered at the OPG to be used but can only be registered once the donor loses capacity.

Lasting
Since then, you can make an LPA to nominate attorneys to act for you. This can be for property and financial affairs or for health and welfare. It must be registered at the OPG to be used. The financial LPA can be used as soon as it is registered, the health LPA can only be used if the door has lost capacity.

They can limit flexibility, require the property to be maintained, and may have tax implications if ended early. The right advice can help you weigh these against the benefits.

If the value of the estate is over £5,000 then the application fee for a Grant of Representation is £300. If the value of the estate is less than £5,000 then there is no fee to apply for probate.

You can spend your compensation on almost anything you need especially related to your injury, such as housing, daily living costs, or medical care. The key is that withdrawals are made through the trustees.

If you cannot find the deceased’s will amongst their possessions then you should try contacting:

The deceased’s solicitor. If you are unaware of who the deceased’s solicitor was then you may want to consider contacting solicitors local to the deceased in case they have it.
The deceased’s bank (some people store important documents with their banks).
A will search company.
London Principal Probate Registry If a will is not located then it is assumed that the deceased did not have a will when they died.

An application to the Probate Registry for a Grant of Letters of Administration will need to be made by the next of kin of the deceased.

We handle official paperwork, HMRC forms, and asset transfers. We make sure debts and taxes are paid before distributing the estate to beneficiaries.

A Health and Welfare LPA is a legal document that allows you to appoint someone you trust to make decisions about your health and personal welfare if you're unable to do so yourself.

LPAs can be cancelled or changed as long as you have the mental capacity to make that decision. It's essential to inform the Office of the Public Guardian and all relevant parties about any changes.

No. Your family will have no access to your bank accounts and cannot sell your property unless they make an application to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order, which is a costly and lengthy process.

If you do not make a will then the intestacy rules apply on your death. These rules contain a pecking order of who can inherit based on your family situation. This can mean that those who you wish to benefit from your estate could lose out and it could cause considerable hardship to them.

The law decides who inherits under the intestacy rules. This might mean people you care about are left out. For example, unmarried partners do not inherit without a Will.

After 12 months (the 52-week disregard), your compensation could be counted as savings. This may reduce or even stop your benefits, or mean you pay your own care fees.

All POAs end automatically when the donor dies. We can release them to the executors if required for estate administration.

NB: Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) are usually given to the donor once they are registered and we do not normally store them or clients. Old-style (pre-2007) Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) which may not have been registered may be stored here.

When the life tenant passes away, the trust ends. The trustees then pass the property or other trust assets to the ultimate beneficiaries named in the will.

If a firm closes, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) arranges for all stored Wills and Deeds to be transferred safely to another regulated firm or archive. You can contact the SRA to find out where yours is held.

It is a document that amends, but does not replace, an existing will. It can add or remove a clause or clauses in the original will.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows a person (the donor) to appoint someone or more than one person they trust (attorneys) to make decisions for them when they no longer have the mental capacity to make the decisions themselves. An LPA has to be made while the donor still has the mental capacity to give their consent to it.

A life interest trust will includes a trust which comes into being when the testator (the person whose will it is) dies by putting something (usually a share in a property) in trust for the ‘life tenant’ (usually their partner). The life tenant can benefit from it during their lifetime without legally owning it but the settlor leaves it to the ‘ultimate beneficiary’ (usually their children) in the end and names people to manage the trust (the ‘trustees’, who are usually the same people as the executors of the will).

It’s a will that places part of your estate (often your share of a property) into a trust. Your partner can use or live in the property for life, and when they die, it passes to your chosen beneficiaries, such as your children.

It ringfences your compensation from your other assets. This protects your money when the DWP or local authority assess you for means-tested benefits or care fees.

A will is an important legal document which governs the distribution of your estate (which is everything that you own) upon your death. If you die without making a will, you are ‘intestate’ and the law will determine who inherits your estate. It is important to seek professional legal advice when writing a will to ensure it complies with all legal requirements and can be executed with ease.

Many people believe that everything they own will automatically go to their spouse but this is not always the case. A properly drafted will sets out your wishes clearly and unambiguously

It can also deal with other matters, such as appointing guardians for any of your children under the age of 18. For clients with more valuable estates, having the correct will in place could save many thousands of pounds of inheritance tax.