Important matters for parents to consider

Have you made a Will and a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for Property & Financial affairs?

Why is it so important to make these documents?

At A R K we believe passionately that it is important to have Wills and LPAs in place, whatever your age. If you have children who are under 18 and you have family responsibilities, it becomes even more vital to protect your family.

In your Will you can stipulate exactly who you would like to have guardianship of your children should the unthinkable happen. This would help a Judge decide who would look after your children if anything were to happen to you. Without a Will detailing your wishes, your children could end up being looked after by someone you wouldn’t have wanted to be
involved in their upbringing.

We can also advise regarding Trusts that you can add into your Will to ensure that your children’s inheritance is protected. For example, you may be concerned that if your partner were to re-marry after your death, your children could lose out on what you wanted them to inherit. You can include a Trust in your Will to protect your share of your property.

An LPA for Property & Finance is very important should you become mentally incapacitated (this can happen at any age following an accident or a stroke). By appointing attorneys when you are well, it means that they could step in and act on your behalf straightaway to deal with all financial and property matters.

For a parent, this would make it much easier for your children to be cared for financially. If you suddenly became unwell, all your accounts (including joint ones) could be frozen, can you imagine how difficult that would make life for your partner? If you have an LPA in place it would be one less thing for them to worry about.