Wills
Lasting Powers of Attorney

Careful estate planning for the future ensures that your assets will be safeguarded and passed on to your loved ones in the most efficient way when the time comes, avoiding disputes and unnecessary costs.

At Bright & Day, our experienced advisors offer a full service, including advice and guidance in respect of:

Wills and Will trusts
Inheritance Tax planning
Lasting Powers of Attorney

Wills

A comprehensive Will is essential for protecting your assets and ensuring they pass to your chosen beneficiaries. It allows you to clearly record your wishes, appoint the people responsible for administering your affairs and decide who should inherit your property and possessions.

A carefully drafted Will can also help protect the family home and ensure that your share ultimately passes to your intended beneficiaries. We provide clear, tailored advice to help you put the right arrangements in place for your circumstances.

Inheritance Tax planning

We provide comprehensive advice on Inheritance Tax liabilities, including how to manage these, ensuring funds will be available to pay the tax when it falls due, and ways of minimising the tax. We can discuss the different allowances that are available, and the use of trusts, charitable donations, and lifetime gifts to potentially reduce Inheritance Tax liability.

Lasting Powers of Attorney

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) allow individuals to appoint one or more trusted attorneys to make decisions on their behalf, should they ever be unable to do this for themselves.

Having LPAs in place gives the peace of mind of knowing that, should you ever need someone to step in on your behalf, they will be able to do so seamlessly.

There are two types of LPA, namely:

  • Property and financial affairs LPA; and
  • Health and welfare LPA

You can choose the same attorneys for each, or different attorneys, depending on their strengths and expertise.

Property and financial affairs LPA

This type of LPA gives your attorney the legal authority to handle property and financial affairs on your behalf. You can specify exactly what the attorney is permitted to do, and this can include the following:

  • Managing your bank account
  • Paying bills
  • Looking after your property, to include insuring it and renting it out
  • Receiving benefits
  • Making investments

A property and financial affairs LPA can be used while someone still has mental capacity, should they wish. For example, if you are unable to get to the bank, you could allow your attorney to deal with matters for you.

Health and welfare LPA

This type of LPA can authorise an attorney to deal with a range of health and welfare matters, as specified in the LPA document. This commonly includes deciding:

  • Where you will live
  • What your daily activities will be
  • Who you will see
  • What medical treatment you will receive
  • What medical treatment will be declined on your behalf

Again, you can set out exactly what you want to happen. This type of LPA can only be used if the person who made it has lost the mental capacity to make their own decisions.

Our LPA advisors are highly experienced and can explain your options to you, ensuring that you have the right LPA for your circumstances.

Contact us

If you would like to speak to an experienced estate planning solicitor, call us on  01302 493 096, email us at info@brightanddaysolicitors.com, or fill in our contact form below.