Hartlepool-born Harrison Smith is a financial adviser based in his hometown’s Greenbank business centre and is associated with Emerald Associates. Harrison offers an insight into money matters in an exclusive monthly column for North East Connected.
This month I have decided to sponsor an Evening with Derek Thompson, the renowned horse racing broadcaster, to help raise much-needed funds for Alice House Hospice on October 25.
You will know by now I am a big supporter of the local hospice in Hartlepool, and I’m aware this column comes during another fantastic fundraiser for the charity, Make a Will Month.
This means that, thanks to five local firms, you can sort out your own will while supporting Alice House. You can do so by contacting TMJLegal Services, Evans & Co Solicitors, Smith & Graham Solicitors, Essential Wills or Freers Askew Bunting.
During Make a Will Month, your solicitor/will writer’s fee of £180 for a single will or £300 for a double will and sure that every penny you give will go straight to Alice House. You are not only helping such a fantastic cause, but you are also helping your own situation too. Here’s why.
A will is such an important thing to have in place to ensure you have control over what happens to your money, your home and your belongings when you die. A will helps to ensure your loved ones are looked after.
Getting older is something nobody really likes to think about. I sit with clients every single day who don’t have wills or a power of attorney in place. The importance of changing that mindset can’t be understated in financial planning.
Realistically, you only need a couple of conversations with your family and professionals to get things right and you can move on, have peace of mind.
Historically people have thought wills are for old people. I would argue quite the opposite. In fact, as soon as anyone has any kind of dependent, you should have a will in place.
If you don’t then something called the laws of intestacy dictate what happens to your estate.
For example, if your estate is worth more than £250,000 then your spouse gets the first £250,000. The rest can be split between various beneficiaries depending on circumstances.
That can be very complicated. That was experienced by my family when my grandad passed away without a will, for example. We won’t have been the only family to have encountered such problems.
If there are children involved, and after the first £250,000 has gone to the spouse, of the remaining estate, a further half would go to the spouse and the remaining half would be divided among the children.
If you don’t have children, the question is then asked, ‘if you have parents who could be entitled to a portion of your estate’? If your parents are no longer around then it will then be a question of whether there are any siblings? If there isn’t anyone else involved then the spouse would get everything, That can be time consuming. The whole point is that such situations can be quite messy if you are married.
It is even messier if you are not. If you are not married and you don’t have a will then the partner isn’t entitled to anything as per the laws of intestacy. Nail down that will – get one in place The will isn’t the only part of later life planning.
Another element people should consider is the Lasting Power of Attorney. This effectively allows you to say in advance what decisions you want making if you lose the capacity to make them yourself.
With the Lasting Power of Attorney, you get to choose who acts on your behalf in situations where you are unable to. Without this, certain circumstances can become difficult and expensive for your family.
Without one, when decisions need to be made about your affairs, they will have to apply for deputyship, meaning it becomes a Lasting Power of Attorney post loss of capacity and that can be a lengthy process.
Whilst you’re here and in a healthy condition, these topics may not appear important. However, nobody knows when things will change.
In situations where you are unable to make your own decisions, you should be thinking about who you’d rather making those for you? Someone of your own choosing or leave it to chance?
Alice House is a charity close to my heart, so what better way to support a local charity by hugely benefitting your own life too. Check out their website for how to get involved.
*For further information or to book an appointment with Harrison check out his adviser hub https://linktr.ee/harrisonsmithea [linktr.ee]