Future Plans & Asset Protection

One of the greatest concerns we all have is our well being and the well being of our family as we grow older. We want to know that we will be well looked after. It is not always possible to personally provide all the care and support required and families often have to seek the help needed from elsewhere. With fewer younger people out of work who are available to assist and with an increasingly ageing population, the task of caring for us as we get older often falls to someone outside the family. More and more people are now asking themselves whether they will need to consider long term residential care.

We recognise that there are many people who worry about this and loosing their independence but don’t know what they can do to be best prepared to deal with this and who will need advice on how to protect their assets and how to cope with both the practical and financial changes that they may face.

We have a specialist team who are committed wholly to advising on such issues.

• We can help you make a correctly drafted Will.
• We can appoint the right people to carry out your wishes under a Lasting Power of Attorney.
• We can advise you how to best protect your assets and ensure they stay in the family.
• We can inform and advise you on whether you will be liable to pay Inheritance Tax.
• We can advise you on whether you are receiving all the benefits that you should be.
• We can advise you on what your rights are in terms of care in your home and how much you should be paying towards this. We can also help you with complaints regarding your care and challenging any funding arrangements for your care which you think may not be correct.
• We can advise you about moving into residential care from how to pick the best home for you or your family member, checking that the contract for care is correct, advising you on funding arrangements including Deferred Payment Agreements and First and Third Party Top Up Agreements.
• We can advise you regarding the process on discharge from hospital, what rights you have and what assessments should be completed before discharge.
• We can also advise you on whether you or your relative should be entitled to NHS Continuing Healthcare – see here for further details.

If you are thinking about giving your house away, we can

• Advise you properly and help you understand what the advantages and disadvantages are.
• Advise you on what can go wrong.
• Advise you on the implications (if any) for your children.

If you are thinking about sharing accommodation with family either in a separate part of the property or as part of the household or considering making a joint purchase with other family members in order to provide shared accommodation there are legal and practical issues to consider. We are happy to discuss these with you and take any action necessary.

Retirement from work

If you are about to retire or have recently retired you will need to think about the financial changes and how you will fund your retirement.

We cannot give advice on your pension and investment arrangements but we can recommend trusted experts in this area.

Don’t leave it too late

We are often contacted by concerned family members following a sudden illness, accident or other event. We are often able to help but sometimes it is too late. We urge you to take early action to put your affairs in order. If necessary, we can refer you to other specialists, for example, accountants or independent financial advisers. We will work with those professionals to achieve your aims.

Home Visits

We recognise that our elderly clients may not be in a position to visit us at our offices. By prior arrangement, we can meet with our elderly clients at home or even in hospital.

Please contact a member of our Private Client Team who will be pleased to help you.