7ef5e152

Business LPAs – Why You Should Have Them

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 08:00:21 GMT

Why You Should Have Business LPAs in Place ✅

As a director of a limited company, setting up Business Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) is a smart, proactive way to protect both your business and your personal interests. Here’s why it’s important:

1. Maintain Business Continuity

If you were to lose mental capacity (due to illness, accident, or stroke), you would no longer be legally able to act as a company director. This could leave your business exposed - especially if you're the sole director or a key decision-maker. A Business LPA ensures someone you trust can legally step in to make decisions and keep operations running smoothly.

2. Avoid Costly Delays

Without an LPA, your business partners or staff cannot just "take over." They would need to apply to the Court of Protection to gain control, which can take months and cost thousands. In the meantime, your business could suffer serious disruption - missed contracts, frozen bank accounts, or lost clients.

3. Separate Business from Personal Affairs

You may already have a personal LPA, but a Business LPA is distinct and focused solely on your company interests . It allows you to appoint someone with appropriate knowledge or expertise (like a co-director, accountant, or solicitor) to act in your business capacity only.

4. Protect Stakeholders and Employees

If you're a key player, your incapacity could jeopardise staff salaries, supplier contracts, or shareholder value. A Business LPA protects the livelihood of everyone connected to your company.

5. Demonstrates Good Governance

Having a Business LPA in place shows foresight, professionalism, and responsible corporate governance—something clients, investors, and insurers increasingly value.

⚠️ Important Note:

Your company’s Articles of Association and shareholder agreements should be reviewed alongside setting up a Business LPA to ensure there are no restrictions on attorneys stepping in, and to define what happens in the event of incapacity

If you would like a free consultation about establishing a Business LPA for your business interests, please do not hesitate to contact me: Claire Richards, Dorset Coast Wills Limited 01202 985081 or use this link to book an appointment: https://calendly.com/clairerichards/60min

Who’s Who in your Will

claireerichards@outlook.com (Claire Richards) — Wed, 24 May 2023 19:15:37 GMT

One of the things that makes Wills sound a bit scary is the official terms for the people who are involved in your Will

Making a Will can feel a bit intimidating and all the formal wording doesn’t help. One of the things that makes Wills sound a bit scary is the official terms for the people who are involved in your Will, so I thought I’d give you a quick run down of ‘Who’s Who and What They Do’ in your Will

First off, if it is your Will, then you are the Testator, the person making the Will or giving a gift.

When you die, someone – a person or a professional – will need to organise your estate and pay any bills that are still owed, pay for your funeral (they would get the money back…) and also pay HMRC if you owed them any tax – typically this would be Inheritance Tax and you don’t get this back(!). This is what an Executor does. I always suggest that you choose these carefully as it is not always much of a gift that you are giving them as there can be work to do….but you should also choose a professional carefully too as it can be an expensive activity with the wrong professional.

While the Executor is executing…there are also Trustees [of your Estate]. Now in truth they may only be Trustees for a short time, perhaps just months while everything is sorted in terms of tax needing to be paid etc., but if you have a house that needs to be sold then they might be a Trustee for a longer period of time. You might also have appointed very specific Trustees if you are leaving a very specific Trust, e.g. money to be kept safe until children are 21 or 25. These Trustees might be specifically chosen by you as people you trust to look after the money with the children’s best interests at heart. They might also be the Guardians of the children.

So, Guardians are those who you entrust the care of your young (under the age of 18) children to. Legally, if your children have a living parent, then they will automatically be the Guardian for the child. While there can be situations where it is not ideal for the surviving parent to be the guardian – this can be an extremely difficult legal area to enforce through the Will or Letter of Wishes.

Beneficiaries - very simply these are people who receive a gift (benefit) in your Will – this could be property, possessions, money…or even a pet (make sure you don’t forget the provision for your pets in your Wills). It is also possible to exclude specific people from your Will, but again this needs careful management if that person is someone who might normally expect to receive a gift e.g. a child.

Finally, there are Witnesses – these can make-or-break the legality of a Will. If you choose the wrong people or they do not complete the Attestation (witnessing) according to correct procedures then the Will will be invalid. Witnesses are therefore absolutely key people. There must be two and among other requirements they cannot be mentioned as a beneficiary in the Will nor be the spouse of someone who is.

If you need help or advice with the Who in your Will or any other part of making a Will please do get in touch .

Do I need help writing my Will?

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:20:05 GMT

Do I need help writing my Will? If so, who should I ask?

Having made the decision to write your Will (good), you may be wondering whether you need help with it and, if you do, who should you ask, particularly as it seems that we cannot turn on our TV or laptop without many options being suggested to us…

How can you decide which is best for you?

This blog should help you to decide which route is best for you and give you some guidelines for what you should look for.

Firstly, let’s address the elephant in the room…of course as a Will Writer I am going to say you need help doing your Will…but do you really? Can you Do-It-Yourself?

Of course you can….BUT (big one…) the risk of you putting together something that is completely useless or invalid are very high, which in the end will mean that it will be as if you had no Will and you will have wasted your time.

A client recently showed me something that they had drafted themselves and there were so many holes in what they had done that it made it a completely pointless exercise. If that had been their final Will, all that would have been achieved is a considerable amount of stress and potentially even litigation for their loved ones.

I look at Will writing this way – if you needed your boiler/car/electrics servicing and were not trained to do this work, would you consider doing it? The number of potential pitfalls and therefore the risks if you do-it-yourself are extremely high. There are many small details that must be considered to include within a Will even for those who might have the simplest of estates – inclusions, exclusions, guardians, trustees, executors, perhaps inheritance tax issues are just a few of the things that need to be carefully considered. If these are not covered properly in your Will the impact on your loved ones when you die could be enormous, and devastating.

What are the options?

A free Will through a Charity – perhaps making a donation to complete your Will

During recent times charities have suffered enormously due to reduced donations, particularly through lost revenue from their retail outlets and face to face fundraising. This means that this is an increasingly popular way to support a favourite charity. There are different ways that charities work with Will Writers to provide this service though and the result can be that there is a limited service provided to clients.

The difficulty is to know who is actually writing the Will and how personal is it going to be? Sometimes you could be speaking with a perfectly reputable local solicitor or independent Will Writer (I do this work for a local charity at certain times of the year myself) which means you are more likely to get an excellent service, but sometimes this work is more like an online service which means you may not get a very detailed Will. It is highly likely that you would only receive a simple Will by using this option and depending on the profile of your estate you may need a more complex solution.

Using an online service

We call this the ‘Tap’ Method – you tap in your details, pay a minimal fee…and Bob’s your Uncle…out pops your Will. Unfortunately like the DIY method, this is very risky. If you don’t know the mistakes that you can make…how do you know how to avoid them? We also often hear from clients that what started out as an advert for a Free Will, or say a small fee of £40, leads to a quote for several thousands (seriously)…and that the £40 or free offer is just a hook. There are definitely risks attached to this option and it could cost more than you thought.

Through a Solicitor

This is one of the most common routes that people think about and of course while the legal risks involved here should be negligible (or non-existent). However, bear in mind that Estate Planning/Will/LPA writing is a wide area of law so you need to ensure that your chosen firm of solicitors has the appropriate division within their practice. Double check whether you are getting a fixed fee or whether your solicitor will be charging by the hour. Will writing can be a time-consuming process, and therefore a costly one with a solicitor if a fixed fee is not agreed upfront. If there is a fixed option ensure that everything you may want and need is included in that fee.

Using a professional Will Writer

This is increasingly both a very cost-effective and safe approach to take with your Will writing. Professional Will Writers will often operate on a fixed-cost, transparent basis – assessing your Will needs and advising you before commencement of the cost of their service. They generally do not work on an hourly pay basis, nor do they limit the amount of time that you spend with them. If you were going to buy a top-of-range car you would be disappointed to not have full access to the sales-person prior to purchase (or indeed post-sale), or to be charged by the hour to talk to them. Why would you settle for less than this level of service when you are planning your Will to protect your loved ones?

What are the key things you should be looking for when deciding who to use for your Will writing?

Are they a member of a professional body – the Society of Will Writers for example.
Do they have an appropriate level of professional indemnity insurance – minimum £2.5million.
Are they committed to Continuous Professional Development – the law changes regularly, permitted practices have changed for Will writers since the pandemic.
Are you going to be comfortable discussing your private financial and family matters with this person? Writing your Will, talking about your death, planning for how to protect your family and friends, discussing the contents of your bank, how much you have left on your mortgage, who in your family you like or don’t….these are all very personal matters, so make sure you find someone you feel comfortable with.

Do some due diligence research – look at the reviews the business is receiving. Speak with them (many Will Writers offer a free consultation before commencing any work); ask about their prices and compare them to other providers.

A person who can take you calmly and thoroughly through the process…someone who knows how important your family is to you…who will give as much care to your plans as they would to their own.

I hope this blog gives you some useful pointers on how to write your Will and who you should choose…ok now comes the bit about me…

Dorset Coast Wills is an Independent Will Writer based in Christchurch, Dorset working across the UK. Dorset Coast Wills is a member of the Society of Will Writers, committed to their code of conduct and consistently investing in CPD. We receive 5* ratings from our clients for the care we give and work we do. We collaborate with probate providers, contentious probate solicitors, trust solicitors and other Will Writers. We are always happy to help and answer questions.

If you would like to ask any questions about the contents of this blog, or perhaps have a specific question about writing your Will get in touch .

When should I start writing my will?

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 09:15:21 GMT

If you are asking yourself ‘When should I start writing my will?’ you are not alone.

Am I too young to have a Will?

I don’t own anything so surely, I don’t need a Will?

I’m married, so I don’t need a Will because everything will go to my wife/husband, that’s right isn’t it?

...these are just some of the questions that I am regularly asked. So if you are asking yourself ‘When should I start writing my will?’ you are not alone.

The truth of the matter is that I can sometimes answer this question very easily, as there are some key indicators of definitely needing a Will. For example;

You have children – whether you are married to the other parent or not
You have just bought a property with someone – whether in a relationship with that person or not
Your financial circumstances suddenly change, e.g. you inherit money
Your relationship status changes – you get married, or you separate with a view to getting a divorce (if you were married)
You lose a loved-one that might have benefitted from your Will previously – often this will also be a time where clients see how difficult it can be when someone dies without a Will
You have someone in your life that you specifically want to make sure does or does not receive benefit from your Will.

A good short answer to when should you start writing your Will might be: if you have anyone in your life that you care about that you would like to protect as much as you can and/or own anything that you would like to gift – you should have a Will.

If a person dies without a Will, then it is the government that decides who should receive anything from their estate. There is a set order in which this would happen, and this is known as the Rules of Intestacy.

If you would like to see where your estate would currently go, based on your existing circumstances, you can use this handy tool from gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

For some people the intestacy rules might provide exactly what they would have chosen. Unfortunately, this is very very rarely the case. Usually even a single person, with no children and a very modest estate would like to leave things to specific people, and that may not be their parents or siblings – maybe they would like their nieces or nephews to benefit or friends, neighbours or charities.

Or take the example of a married couple with young children. Typically, we see that husband/wives/civil partners will leave a considerable amount of their estate (if not all) to the surviving partner. Under the Intestacy Rules, if there is no Will, the surviving spouse will receive all assets up to £270k, and then the remaining assets will be shared 50:50 with children and grandchildren. The difficulty that this situation might cause the surviving spouse could be enormous, it may mean that property needs to be sold, there could be considerable stress and discord amongst the beneficiaries…a truly horrid scenario where a spouse is still dealing with the grief of their loss.

It is also extremely important to know that without a Will the administration of the deceased’s estate will be a great deal harder, as no-one has been given the ‘authority’ to manage this, i.e. no-one has been nominated as an Executor. This therefore means that a loved one must apply for a Grant of Representation which makes things complicated and of course it takes longer too.

A question I would ask is – why do you want to let the Government decide, why not make your own wishes known, and be sure that they are followed? This is what your Will does for you.

Legally a person must be 18 years old to create a valid Will, but not all 18 year olds are equal. Some may have already inherited themselves, some might have property. Alternatively they might be living at home and still in education. Should they all make a Will? I would advise that it depends on their personal circumstances, but the fact remains that if they wish to be in charge of who receives what from their estate – even down to their Lego collection (personally I can vouch for the fact that some 18 year olds have a considerable estate in Lego!) – then a valid Will is the only way that they can be sure that their estate will be gifted as they wish.

Perhaps the even simpler answer to the question about ‘when you should start writing a Will’, is ‘start talking to a professional about this when you are 18 years old’…..that way there is every chance that you will keep your estate safe when the risks are increasing through your life. That way your wishes are covered and you can store the Wills safely, forget about them and get on with living….

If you would like a free consultation then please do not hesitate to get in touch, I am always happy to chat and help, you can call me on 01202 985081 or email me claire@dorsetcoastwills.co.uk.

Why you should have a will

claireerichards@outlook.com (Claire Richards) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 09:49:08 GMT

TOP 5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD WRITE A WILL

According to a recent survey, 55% of UK adults do not have a Will. Are you one of these adults? There are a number of good reasons why you should write a Will, but here we will look at the top five reasons.

1. Without a Will your estate and requests are left to the law.

One of the main reasons why you should write a Will is because without one, you would die ‘intestate’. This means that any thoughts you might have had about protecting your children, your assets or your loved ones are ignored, and the Intestacy Laws will apply.

These laws decide who gets a share of your estate. Occasionally these laws change… but what does not change is that there is nothing personal about the laws. Nothing that shows true relationships. Perhaps you have also had a disagreement with a relative that you would not wish to leave anything to? Depending on their relationship to you, it could be that they receive money from your estate – money that you would have wanted a wife/husband/civil partner to have had. Click here to see what the Intestacy Rules are currently

2. If you do not have a Will, your children may not be properly protected.

If your children are younger and there is a remaining parent, then they will very likely (without good reason otherwise) be their sole parent and care for them. This may not be what you would wish – unfortunately we see many reasons why this is not ideal. In instances where both parents have died and there is no Will, there would be enormous problems for any godparent, family friend, aunt to become their guardians. This would be life-changing for the children in many ways. An enormous amount of distress and upheaval could be avoided with a Will that identifies the most suitable guardians for the children (who may not be relatives).

3. Your wishes can be communicated to your loved ones.

When a family member dies it leaves a hole in the lives of others, and in many cases, they are dealing with enormous grief and loss. With a Will, yes you are preparing for your death. But what you are also doing by putting your wishes in place, is making plans to help them as much as you can, and for as long as you can.

Your wishes will not only help loved ones financially where your estate allows, but this will also help them through the hard times that they will face without your support. Why would you not want your wishes followed? This is what a Will provides.

4. A Will makes probate and administration of death easier.

As well as dealing with their grief, there is probate and the administration of your death which must be dealt with. Much of this work has to happen quickly after your death. Without the instructions in your Will, this is a much harder job to do. Do your loved ones know your wishes regarding your funeral or organ donation?

Through your Will, you have the chance to identify people that are willing and able to take care of this work – someone best-suited to being an executor. This might be a business colleague, or a family friend that you know will support your loved ones. Without a Will, there is still a lot of work to do, but it would be a great deal harder. With the express detail of your wishes in your Will, this saves your family a considerable amount of additional distress.

5. It is good practice and the smart thing to do.

If you have children, own property, have a pension, life assurance, savings, personal possessions, pets, family mementos, are married, in a civil partnership or divorced… your death will be so much easier to manage, and for your loved ones to deal with if there is a Will. In the same way that it is good practice to have your car serviced and an MOT, to insure your house and contents, to take out a life assurance policy. It is also good practice to write a Will. It is also good practice to review a Will, we recommend no longer than a five year gap between each review.

Do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like help with your Will. We are happy to talk and we offer a free consultation to our clients.