Despite the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) experiencing worsening delays, new research indicates that the number of Power of Attorney applications continues to soar in England and Wales. 

Over six million Powers of Attorney were currently registered with the Office of the Public Guardian at the end of March 2022, an increase of 5.3 million since the start of 2019. 

It is imperative to establish a Lasting Power of Attorney in order to assist you and your loved ones in the event of your incapacity. You can use a Lasting Power of Attorney if you lose mental capacity and need a loved one to make decisions for you. This is in regard to your financial situation, medical treatment, and other affairs. 

“Mental capacity” refers to “the ability to reach a decision”. The mental capacity of a person means that they have a thorough understanding of why they need to reach a decision. They also understand how it will affect them, and whether there will be any adverse consequences. In some instances, individuals are able to make some kinds of decisions, but they are not able to make others. 

LPAs can be divided into two types: A Health and Welfare LPA enables your Attorney to make decisions regarding healthcare, including treatments and surgeries. A Property and Financial Affairs LPA gives your Attorney authority to manage your finances, assets, and property, provided the assets and property are located in England or Wales. 

LPAs are beneficial in that they allow us to make better decisions. We all want the freedom to make our own choices, but what happens if those choices are no longer possible? If you become unable to think clearly for yourself, you get to decide who looks after your situation by appointing someone you trust to work in your best interests.  

Make sure you have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place to protect yourself in the event of mental incapacity and contact us for further information on how to protect you in this situation. 

The National Will Register recently stated that it currently has over 10 million Wills in its database. 

According to a 2021 survey conducted by insurance provider Canada Life, around two in every five UK individuals, or 21 million people, have created a Will, implying that The National Will Register claims to have over half of all written Wills recorded in its system. 

The National Will Register has managed to grow into the UK’s trademarked Will Registration service, offering a Certainty Will Search to the general public as well as Wills and Probate professionals in its goal of ensuring that no Will is unidentified, untraced, or unutilized when it is needed.  

With no previous stand-out central record of Wills written in the UK, finding a Will was left to cold-calling solicitors and Will writers in the main, making for a long, arduous, and distressing situation at an already difficult time. If a Will is not entered in the National Will Register, it is unclear if one was ever drafted. 

Ackary Benjamin’s secure storage plan guarantees that your Will and legal documents are not only traceable with the National Will Register but also protected from fire, theft, and destruction whilst also being entirely insured, relieving you of the worry of where your Will is located at all times.  

Contact us today for more information on our document storage plan. 

Richard Ticehurst, a 70-year-old man who lived in a run-down house with no electricity or gas, has left a quarter of a million-pound estate to 31 relatives he seemed to have no idea existed! 

 Ticehurst was an only child with no known relatives, and he had no wife or children. Finders International was tasked with tracking down his closest relatives.  

It was later discovered that he had 31 relatives spread across five countries and three continents, one of whom, Yvonne Fraser of Australia, is set to have received a portion of Richard’s £250,000 estate. 

Danny Curran of Finders International said ‘being a beneficiary to the estate of someone you didn’t know, or barely knew of is becoming more common in the upcoming years.’  Hundreds of surprised family members are reunited with money from unexpected relatives every year.  

If you die without leaving a will, you have died intestate, and what you leave is subject to intestacy laws. If there are no surviving relatives who can inherit under intestacy rules your estate reverts to the Treasury if it is not claimed within 12 years. 

Writing a will ensures that your wishes regarding your money, possessions, and property are carried out after your death.  

In addition, writing a will has never been more important, seeing as your estate may be distributed to individuals you’ve never met or heard of. Maintain control over who inherits your estate and ensure that your loved ones are considered in the event of this unfortunate situation.