Personal Matters
Planning for the future

Helping you to secure your and your family's future.

In our middle years, we should all take steps to protect our futures and our families. This can be done in a variety of ways. Get it right - contact one of the Robinsons team for more help and information on any of the topics here.

Lasting Powers of Attorney
If you lose your mental capacity, for whatever reason, someone has to have authority to deal with your financial affairs, which may include the sale of your house. A Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to appoint the person(s) of your choice to do just that. You can appoint one or more Attorneys and you can, if you wish, restrict their powers, so, for example, they can only deal with certain bank accounts.

Court of Protection
If you lose your mental capacity and do not have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, it will be necessary for someone (usually a member of your family) to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your Deputy.

Once appointed, the Deputy will be able to deal with your financial affairs under the strict rules and restrictions of the Court of Protection.

Deputyship under the Court of Protection is far more restricted than a Lasting Power of Attorney and the person appointed may not necessarily be the person you would have chosen.

Clearly, you should sign a Lasting Power of Attorney.

Nursing Home Costs
We can advise you how assets can be protected against nursing home costs.

Making a Will
If you do not make a valid will, your estate may not pass to those people you would have chosen to benefit. See our Wills section as to the importance of making a will and what happens when you do not.

Tax Planning
Inheritance Tax is currently payable on estates with a value over £312,000*. There are ways of arranging your affairs so that no or minimum tax is payable. Taking advantage of annual exemptions is only one way of reducing Inheritance Tax. Visit our Wills section for more information.
*This figure may change in the budget.

Trusts
Wills quite often contain a trust of one sort or another, usually for the benefit of children. You can also set up trusts during your lifetime, whether for tax purposes or for the benefit of charities, grandchildren and/or the disabled.