Completely realise that this is not Fintech, but partner and I are just doing our wills and have been advised on LPA’s. We are considering using Co-Op for wills and just wondered if there was any advice out there about Wills and LPA cost and effective provision? R-
I’m not an expert, but LPA should be considered separately to a will.
A will is about what you want to happen after you die, Lasting Power of Attorney is about help managing your affairs while you are still alive.
A Health & Welfare Power of Attorney allows you to provide family/friends with the ability to make decisions on your healthcare if you lose the ability to do so (it’s morbid, but important as it may allow them to switch off your life support if you are brain dead, for example).
A Property and Financial Affairs Power of Attorney allows them to manage your property and financial accounts on your behalf, either before you lose capacity (to help you if you don’t want to worry about money) or after (as long as the power of attorney has been registered before the loss of capacity has occurred).
It’s worth doing all three (a will and both types of power of attorney) for both you and your partner. Also, it’s always worth talking to your close family about things like organ donation.
The gov.uk website has lots of articles to help you, and if you read the guides there then you are likely to find it fairly easy to create Power of Attorneys yourself.
Making a will yourself is a bit more difficult, so probably a good idea to stick to Co-op for that.
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PS: I have no idea how old you are, or what your financial circumstances are, but it’s also worth thinking about how inheritance tax would be likely to affect your family, and potentially considering gifting or other (legal) ways to reduce your total wealth, therefore avoiding being taxed as highly as you would be if you did nothing.
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Thank you, that is very helpful and in line with all the advice I have read and received to date. R-
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I will investigate this further. It seems that it is not difficult to do and maybe more cost effective. Thank you. R-
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You’re welcome!
Just remember, if you do use gifting to dispose of your assets, then it’s important to keep records of your intentions.
I believe this can be as simple as writing letters which are signed and dated, and also keeping a log of amounts gifted.
The executor of your estate can look at these records later to ensure the right amount of tax is being paid.
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Hi, I have just done LPAs for both myself and my wife. The company who did our wills quoted £642 to complete each of them. After a bit of research I found the government website Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney - GOV.UK which makes the whole process incredibly simple if you are happy to read a bit. You complete it all online, print the document, get it signed and witnessed, pay £82 and send it off to be registered.
Maybe some people have complex requirements but £642 vs £82…
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Thanks for this. I found the Gov.uk website and have started the process there. Our affairs are not complicated - and I like the £82 x 2 against £500 that we were being quoted by the Co-op. R-
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To add to this, my mum has recently done hers, and she used the gov.uk site for both types of LPA 
Absolutely zero hassle, and straight forward. The payment stings, but it’s much better than forking out hundreds. 
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