Franklin & Co.’s Private Client team offer an extensive range of personal legal services, and have a great deal of knowledge and experience in handling sensitive matters.
Our Wills & Lifetime Planning team possess a wealth of legal experience; the team includes our Will Writer, Tina Fisher, with support from Sophie Haigh.
At Franklin & Co. we understand personal legal services are often delicate in nature, and the collective skillset of our team is invaluable when providing these services; across our team we hold membership of both Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) – a respected body of professional practitioners – and Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), as well as having a Dementia Friends Champion and an Advanced Will Writer. We pride ourselves upon approaching sensitive matters in a professional yet understanding and supportive way, often to vulnerable clients who need specialist support.
Franklin & Co. offers a range of services relating to Wills & Powers of Attorney, including:
- Will preparation
- Creation and management of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)
- Estate planning, including Inheritance Tax planning and asset protection
- Statutory Wills
- Advance decisions
- Registration and management of Enduring Powers of Attorney
- Court of Protection applications, including Deputyship applications
- Advising Attorneys and Deputies on their roles and responsibilities
- Deputy reports
- Advice to the elderly and their families
Wills
Many clients will tell us that they have been meaning to make their Wills for a long time. As a will is the most effective way to ensure that your estate passes to the people and causes that you care about, it should be considered a priority.
If you die without leaving a Will, your estate will be distributed in accordance with the rules set out in law known as the ‘Intestacy Provisions’, which may not reflect your wishes.
Here at Franklin & Co., our specialists can help guide you through the process of making a Will and offer tailored advice. We will take the time to learn about you, your family and your financial circumstances.
We offer competitive fixed fee prices which include the registration of your will with the Certainty National Will Register, and storage of your will in our strongroom. Our charging structures can be found below.
A Will allows you to:
- Appoint people to deal with your estate (‘the Executors’)
- Nominate people to look after your children (‘the Guardians’)
- State your wishes for your funeral
- List the people who will benefit from your estate (‘the Beneficiaries’) – a beneficiary may receive a specific item, a set sum of money or a share of your estate
- Specify the age that your beneficiaries should inherit, and nominate the people who will look after the money until they reach that age (‘the Trustees’)
- Create trusts for vulnerable or disabled beneficiaries
- Make provision for your pets
- Incorporate Inheritance Tax planning and asset protection
- You can even create your own charity within your Will
Lasting Powers of Attorney
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) are documents that allow you to choose one or more people (‘your Attorneys’) to make decisions on your behalf should you need assistance or become unable to make decisions for yourself. Your attorneys can only make decisions that are in your best interests and to help you retain your independence.
There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney: Property and Financial Affairs, and Health and Welfare.
Our specialists at Franklin & Co. can assist with the preparation of your LPAs and will tailor them to include your wishes. We will also advise you on who is suitable to act as an attorney, how your attorneys must make decisions on your behalf, their powers under the LPAs and the best way to incorporate your wishes.
As part of our service, we will act as your ‘Certificate Provider’. This means that we will sign a certificate to say that you have sufficient mental capacity to make the LPA, you are not being placed under any pressure to make the LPA, and that we know of no other reason why the LPA shouldn’t be registered.
After your LPAs have been signed, they will be sent to the Office of the Public Guardian for registration. Your registered LPAs will be stored in our strongroom without charge. We will also be happy to advise your attorneys in the future on their duties and responsibilities.
We offer competitively priced fixed fees for the preparation and registration of LPAs. Each LPA is usually subject to a registration fee of £82. Depending on your level of income, this charge may not apply, or it may be at a reduced rate. Our charging structures can be found below.
If you lose the ability to make your own decisions and you do not have an LPA in place, somebody (but not necessarily the person who you would choose) will apply to the Court of Protection to become a ‘Deputy’. This is more complex, costly and time consuming, with some applications taking more than a year to be finalised.
Contact Franklin & Co.’s Private Client team to discuss your personal legal requirements, and gain peace of mind for you and your loved ones’ futures.
