Later Life Planning Top Tips
Sharing Lifetime Lawyers' top tips www.lifetimelawyers.org.uk for taking action on planning for your later life. Great advice here:
Make a will – not only will this set out what your wishes are, it will enable you to put in place inheritance tax planning (IHT) or care fee planning. This can include any trust arrangements and reviewing your property ownership. If you co-own a property how you hold it determines how it will pass on your death. Your share may pass by survivorship to your co-owners, or it may pass via your will to your chosen beneficiaries.
Make Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) – these are legal documents that enable you to choose who you would want to step into your shoes and make decisions on your behalf if you cannot make them for yourself in the future. There are two types of LPA, one for health & welfare and one for property & financial affairs.
Seek financial advice – we all have different ideas about what our later life will look like and sometimes we are dealt a curve ball and need to alter what we had in mind. I would recommend seeing someone who is a member of the Society for Later Life Advisors (SOLLA) as they are specialists in looking at later life issues. This can cover advice from how you want to experience your retirement, to making a plan to mitigate your inheritance burden or care fee costs.
Living arrangements – have a plan for how you want to live in your last chapters before you get there. Do you want to downsize or live nearer to facilities, for example. Often this is left too late, which can impact on safety, independence and quality of life.
Look after your health – later life does not have to be doom and gloom, people are doing amazing things at all stages of life, but it starts with taking care of self both physically and mentally. Eating well, sleeping well and movement in whatever form brings you joy!
At Owen Kenny, our Private Client team are Lifetime Lawyers. Call us on 01243 532777 to make an appointment or email info@owenkenny.co.uk with your enquiry.
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