A lasting power of attorney is no use in a drawer: it has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before anyone can act under it, and registration takes many weeks, so a family that waits for a diagnosis has usually waited too long. In a city that so many people move to in retirement, this is the conversation will solicitors in Wells have most often, and it usually begins with a will and ends with two powers of attorney, one for money and one for health and care.
The wills themselves reflect the place. Couples who have downsized to Wells want the house protected for a surviving spouse and then passed to children who live far away; people on a second marriage want life interest trusts that keep the peace between a new spouse and the first family; those with no close relatives leave legacies to the cathedral, the hospice and the animal charities. Care fees are the constant worry, and a Wells solicitor will say honestly what planning can and cannot do about them. Farming families have an added urgency, because the inheritance tax reliefs for farms are being pared back, and a farm that once passed down whole may now need partnerships, gifts and insurance to survive.
Unmarried partners have no rights on intestacy however long they have shared a cottage, and the home-made will that leaves "everything to my family" is a reliable source of litigation. The same firms handle probate: valuing the house, land and investments, dealing with HMRC, obtaining the grant and distributing, which is rarely simple when a farm or a let cottage is involved.
Wills and powers of attorney are fixed-fee almost everywhere; probate may be fixed, hourly or a percentage, so compare quotes.
Wells's wills and probate solicitors are listed below, verified firms first. See what a lasting power of attorney is, wills, trusts and probate explained, what probate costs and the general will solicitors guide.
