Services

Private Client Department

Your Team

Select a member of the team to read their profile and to contact them.

To find out more about Enduring Powers of Attorney, visit our library of fact-sheets.

• View factsheets

Skip to content

• Will drafting
• Estate administration
• UK inheritance tax planning
• Enduring powers of attorney
• Elderly clients’ affairs
• Living wills
• Trusts
• Clients with learning disabilities or dementia

Elderly clients’ affairs

With an aging population and the continuing decline of the nuclear family many elderly people need assistance with their affairs.

As members of Solicitors for the Elderly we have considerable experience and expertise in this area. We try to limit our help to the legal front but it is not uncommon that we will at times also offer assistance with practical matters where nobody else can help. Perhaps more importantly we can often offer guidance and impartial advice.

Sadly in some cases the mental capacity of the elderly diminishes to the extent that they can no longer manage their affairs. In such instances it is frequently possible to use an Enduring Power of Attorney but where one is not in place it may be necessary to make an application to the Court of Protection. Further details of this can be found in the section relating to the affairs of clients with learning disabilities or dementia.

A power of attorney is a document by which a person (the Donor) gives authority to another person or persons (the Attorney or Attorneys) to deal with some or all of his/her affairs. Usually the power will only be valid while the Donor has mental capacity but an Enduring Power of Attorney can overcome this problem because it continues to be valid even if the Donor becomes mentally incapacitated.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 will probably replace enduring powers in 2007 with Lasting Powers of Attorney. These are designed to overcome some of the weaknesses of enduring powers. Most importantly lasting powers may be used to extend the authority of Attorneys to deal not only with financial affairs but also with personal welfare decisions.

Because Enduring Powers of Attorney will continue to be valid after 2007 some clients may find it beneficial to create them before the advent of the new-style Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Please contact a member of the team to discuss your individual needs.