Putting a Will in place is essential to make sure your Estate passes to your chosen beneficiaries. If you do not make a Will then your Estate will pass to beneficiaries under the intestacy rules which can cause a lot of stress to your loved ones. 

When making a Will you can cover all aspects such as appointment of Executors to administer your Estate, funeral wishes, guardianship for minor children, Will trusts for children and property trusts. You can also include specific gifts and even charitable donations. 

To discuss making a Will and get further advice in relation to Will drafting then please do not hesitate to contact us, we will be more than happy to assist. 

A Living Will is also known as an Advanced Directive which is a legally binding document in which you can make decisions regarding your own medical treatment if you later became unable to communicate your own wishes. This can include refusing medical treatment and does need to be discussed with a medical professional before proceeding.

If you have any questions or require further information then please do not hesitate to contact us.

By making a Lasting Power of Attorney you can decide who would assist you in the future if you became mentally or physically unable to manage your own affairs. You can appoint a friend, relative or our firm as professional Attorneys. 

There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney:

1. Property and Financial Affairs – this can be used as soon as it has been registered, only with your consent, and also in the event that you did lose mental capacity, unless you put in a restriction to say otherwise. This document can be used by your Attorneys to deal with your bank accounts and savings, pay bills and even sell property.
2. Health and Welfare Decisions – this can be used by your Attorneys only in the event that you did lose mental capacity for decision making such as the type of health care and medical treatment you receive including life sustaining treatment, where you live and day to day matters such as your diet and daily routine.

Please do not hesitate to contact our team with any queries you may have or to make an appointment.

Even though you are no longer able to make an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), any valid EPA that was made can still be used by your Attorneys to manage your financial affairs. 

In the event the Donor (the person who made the EPA) starts to lose mental capacity, the EPA needs to be registered by the Attorney with the Court. 

If you have any queries about the registration process then please contact us, we will be happy to assist. 

Sometimes a General Power of Attorney is made by a person (the Donor) who is looking to give specific power to a person (the Attorney) over a short period of time such as selling a property or whilst waiting for a Lasting Power of Attorney to be put in place.

A General Power of Attorney would come to an end if the person did lose mental capacity and this is why they are advised to be used in limited circumstances only.

To discuss whether a General Power of Attorney is suitable to your circumstances then please contact us for further guidance.

If a person has lost mental capacity and does not have a valid Lasting Power of Attorney in place then an application needs to be made to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy to manage the persons financial affairs on their behalf.

An application to be appointed as Deputy is a lengthy process but we are able to assist and offer guidance throughout the process. The Deputy can be a friend, relative or professional. We can even offer the service of being appointed as professional Deputies.

If you would like more information about the Court of Protection process then please contact us.

Where a person has passed away leaving a valid Will and a Grant of Probate is required to deal with their Estate, we can assist with the application to the Probate Registry. This is offered on a fixed fee basis and the Executors will obtain the information required by ourselves to complete the Grant of Probate application.  

Once obtained the Grant of Probate is handed to the Executors to enable them to administer the Estate in accordance with the Will. We can also be instructed in the Administration of the Estate, please see our section on Estate Administration for further details.

If we can assist you in your Grant of Probate Application or you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our team.

Where a person has passed away intestate, without a making a valid Will, then the intestacy rules would apply. There is a strict order of persons entitled to administer and benefit from the Estate. Sometimes, it may be that a genealogist has to be instructed to provide a family tree to establish the persons entitled to administer and benefit under the rules of intestacy. 

Once the Administrator(s) have been established, we can assist with the Letters of Administration Application. The proposed Administrator(s) would provide all the information required by ourselves to complete the application on their behalf.  This is completed on a fixed fee basis.  

When the Letters of Administration has been received from the Probate Registry this will be sent to the appointed Administrator(s) to administer the Estate in accordance with the intestacy rules. The appointed Administrator(s) can also instruct us to act in the Estate administration, please see our section on Estate Administration for further details.

If you would like to discuss a Letters of Administration Application then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Here at Lichfield Reynolds LLP, we understand that dealing with an Estate can be an emotional and difficult time.  We are here to help and support you through each step of the way.

We can assist with everything from helping with funeral arrangements, ascertaining all assets and liabilities, dealing with the Probate Registry, paying inheritance tax where applicable, obtaining the Grant, bringing in the assets, settling all liabilities and making payment in accordance with the Will or intestacy rules. It can be a lengthy process and we will provide support and guidance throughout.  

We appreciate every Estate is different and we do not charge a percentage of the value of the Estate.  We charge on an hourly rate basis for work undertaken and would be more than happy to provide a quotation based on the requirements of the Estate. Please see our costs section for more information on our costs or telephone for a free consultation.  

If you would like to discuss Estate Administration in more detail or have any questions please contact us.