Wills & Power of Attorney

Our lawyers specialising in wills and power of attorney protection will help you to protect your assets and plan for your future.

Whether clients are professionals, entrepreneurs or individuals who have created or inherited wealth, we at Grayfords are on hand to offer you legal advice, whatever your circumstances.

Will Writing

This is the process of drafting and executing a valid will. A will is document which sets out who you wish to administer your estate on death, who you wish to make gifts to and your funeral wishes. Wills can also be used to set up trusts which make provision for family or friends after your death.  English law affords a very broad discretion to testators (people who make wills) and it’s almost unheard of for a will drafted and executed by a solicitor to be overturned in the UK.

Succession planning

It refers to the use of permitted lifetime gifts to reduce or avoid the need to pay inheritance tax on death. It also includes provision for the continuation of businesses after death and the smooth transition of ownership and control of assets as well as the settlement of debts or continued servicing of loans and management of rental property in the event of your death or incapacity.

Lasting Power of Attorney

We never know what the future will hold and that is why it’s important to do everything possible to plan for what might happen in the future. Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a way of giving someone you trust, your loved ones or your lawyer, the legal authority to make decisions, whether health related or finance related, on your behalf if you become unable to do so yourself in the future.

There are two types of LPA
– Property and financial affairs
– Health and welfare

LPAs allow you (‘the donor’) to choose people to look after your affairs if you
– Lose mental capacity
– Develop, or think they may develop, an illness that may stop them from making decisions for themselves, for example, dementia or a brain injury.

The donor can make one or both types of LPA and it can only be put in place when you have mental capacity.

Our team of power of attorney solicitors have the sensitivity to support you in relation to complex medical needs, financial arrangements, and foreign interests to secure you the best solution to protect your interests.

We at Grayfords know it can be difficult to think about these matters, but it is essential to take control and decide how you want to distribute your assets.

Grayfords to help you in these steps offers different packages standard and customised.