Power of attorney duties

There are a number of duties imposed upon an attorney when they act for a donor (the person giving away the power to the person called an attorney) when a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) comes to life. Some may appear quite simple and obvious, but they all have considerable impact upon how they carry […]

Financial planning for your pension years (part two of two)

One of your first steps will be to decide if you’re going to go down the road of an ordinary power of attorney or whether you consider a lasting power of attorney (continuing and welfare version in Scotland) appropriate.
If you choose to use an ordinary power of attorney this is because you’re going to give […]

Financial planning for your pension years (part one of two)

There is no doubt that a lot of planning goes into managing your money and your affairs during your pension years. There’s also no doubt that every adult would want to be able to manage his or her own money and affairs in those last years of our lives. The problem however, is that our […]

Probate made easy part two of two

If you decide to try and go it alone apply for the grant yourself, you need to contact your local district probate registry. You’ll find them in your local telephone directory where you can search online for probate registry.
Applying in person means you end up having to deal with people at the registry and […]

Probate made easy part one of two

Probate is a difficult subject to understand and an even more difficult process to carry out. After someone has died someone has to deal with their financial affairs. We call this administering their estate.
When a person has died either they will have left a valid will or now will at all. The difference is extremely […]

How do you value your estate?

After someone dies, their estate needs to be valued. You’ll need to know what their ‘financial’ value was at the time of their death. At the other end of the scale, you’ll also need to know what their debts were. Debts don’t just disappear when someone dies, but if their assets aren’t more than their […]

Now where did I put my Will?

I met an elderly lady the other day. She asked me what I did and when I told her she very proudly declared that both she and her husband had made wills just a few years ago.
I asked her if she checked them regularly to see if they needed updating in any way. The reply […]

The day of a funeral

What happens on the day of a funeral?
If you have a pre-paid funeral plan some of these decisions will have been planned for. Some might be outside of this scope. You should check your plan details for information.
Transport
The hearse and the cars following it are called the Cortege. There are some things […]

Labour government increases Inheritance Tax

This blog post was going out on April 1, but given its content, it was delayed for a short while because most people would’ve thought this was an April fool’s joke. Alas, it’s real.
In the recent budget the Chancellor, Mr. Darling announced that he was freezing personal inheritance tax allowance until at least 2015. Of […]

Registering someone’s death

A death should be registered as soon as possible to allow funeral arrangements to go ahead, whether there’s a pre-paid funeral plan or not.
Since 1 April 1997 a death can be registered at any registrar in England and Wales You do not have to go to the registrar in the district where the death […]