Document Storage

Clients can store all their important personal papers together in one wallet, using the unique National Will Safe door-to-door service. All documents are securely placed in a personalised, double-sealed, tamper-evident wallet which resists moisture and excludes damaging light. The wallet is sealed in the client's presence and placed in our own approved vaults. The wallets are insured against consequential loss to the value of £2,000,000.

Lasting Powers of Attorney - Property & Affairs and Personal Welfare

Making a Will is one thing, but what if something happens to you during your lifetime?

• Most people acknowledge that it is important to organise their affairs in the event of their death, which is why so many people make a Will these days.
• However, practically nobody makes similar provisions to organise their affairs should they become unable to look after themselves during their lifetime - an ever increasing possibility given the advances in medical care.
• Somerset Lodge Wills can produce a Legal Document called a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) - a document that enables you to appoint a person or persons to look after your affairs in the even of mental incapacity, perhaps due to old age, illness or accident.
• It is important that such arrangements are made when you are fit and healthy since the Law states that such arrangements cannot be made after the event, which can leave families with all sorts of practical problems.
• While an LPA is a powerful document, there are numerous safeguards to prevent its abuse. Nobody can control your affairs without your permission or before your LPA has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG):
  • An LPA Property & Affairs is primarily used to appoint people to deal with your affairs after the onset of mental incapacity. However, such people can also act on your behalf prior to the onset of mental incapacity - unless you object.
  • The LPA cannot be used until it has been registered at the Office of the Public Guardian
  • Those applying for registration must inform you and your relatives before registration and both you and they can object if you are not actually incapacitated.

Home Visit Will Writing Service

Clients may have their instructions taken in a place to suit them at a time to suit them. The trained Consultant usually takes about 45 minutes to complete the comprehensive instruction form with the clients, ready for the Will to be drafted at one of our regional offices. The final Will is usually returned to the client within seven days for their approval, signing and witnessing. The service operates on a fixed fee basis regardless of the complexities of the Will.

Will Update

Clients are contacted periodically to check that their circumstances have not changed and that their Will still reflects their wishes. Experience has shown that people tend to consider rewriting their Will every three to five years.

Central Register

The location and existence of all Somerset Lodge Wills clients' Wills are stored on the National Wills Register. This service is also open to individuals who have Wills which may have been written and stored elsewhere. This service is currently free but it is anticipated that a nominal charge will be levied in the future. This service has proved invaluable to relatives who were unaware of the existence or location of the deceased's Will. We are also finding that solicitors are making an increasing number of enquiries to the Register to locate their Clients' Wills.

Probate Service

Working in conjunction with a reputable firm of solicitors, we provide a fair priced, well-organised, compassionate service to Executors and Personal Representatives for all or part of the tedious task of obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. Our service includes a two weekly report giving full details of all correspondence and costs to date thus ensuring all parties are fully informed of progress at all times.

The attraction to the clients is the fact that they know wherever in the country they may move to, they will always be able to contact Somerset Lodge and have their documents returned, their Will updated, or assistance in applying for a Grant of Probate. Wherever they are they will receive the same courteous, friendly, ethical service - and the fee does not alter. They can also recommend us to family and friends without hesistation, knowing that everyone receives the same first-class service.

Pre-Paid Funerals

Somerset Lodge Wills can provide clients with various pre- paid funeral plans provided through Golden Leaves Funeral Plans. Pre Planning gives clients the peace of mind knowing that the arrangements they want have already been paid for and their wishes will be carried out.

The cost of funerals has historically increased above the normal levels of inflation and this is predicted to continue. By pre-paying clients can save their families unnecessary costs and the anguish and grief of not knowing what their loved one wanted.

Severing Joint Tenancy of Property

Most people who co-own their home with another person do so as joint Owners. On the death of a Joint Owner, the property AUTOMATICALLY transfers to the sole name of the survivor - who can then do what they want with the property.

However this can cause problems:

• If the survivor then remarries, it is possible that the whole of the house will then pass to their new spouse on their death, thus disinheriting the children of the first marriage, or
• If the survivor has to go into a Nursing or Residential Home, as the sole owner of a property, the Local Authority has powers to charge the cost of care against the value of the whole house, again disinheriting your children.

The answer to both of these problems, is to change the way you own your home from Joint Owners to Tenants in Common - a straightforward process that doesn't involve your mortgage company even if your property is mortgaged.

As Tenants in Common, each owner, using a Will, has the power to do what they want with their share of the property on their death, including leaving it to their children rather than their spouse - we do, however, recommend provisions are also made in the Will to prevent the surviving spouse being forced out of the home.

As a result, if a surviving spouse remarries, they will only own half of the home and can only give their own half to their new spouse. Also, if a surviving spouse needs care, the Local Authority can only charge the cost of care against the half of the house that they own - ensuring in either case that your children inherit at least half of the value of your home.

For more information on either Enduring powers of Attorney or creating a Tenancy in Common, please contact us.