I always tell my clients to appoint someone they trust and who is competent. I have clients who own several properties and who are business owners, and it becomes even more important for them to ensure their business assets and property portfolios are appropriately managed.
Consider a scenario where you’ve got problematic tenants, or need to make executive business decisions and there’s no LPA in place. That would be a nightmare.
So if you’re approaching 70, I would go as far as to say the LPA is more important than your will. The LPA is an immediate need for your wellbeing and those dependent upon you – make no mistake, those dependent upon you are not just your family, but also tenants, staff, customers and so on.
Of course, there’s no reason why you couldn’t start the process at the same time and seek professional advice. That said, people really do need to get into the habit of reviewing their financial circumstances at least every couple of years, and it doesn’t matter what level of wealth you have.
FTA: How can advisers help clients set up an LPA?
MUZ: Advisers need to consider a client's entire personal and financial circumstances. You can actually have multiple LPAs running concurrently. This is especially important where someone has several business interests and would prefer to appoint a different attorney for specific businesses.
Similarly, there could be certain personal affairs that you’d prefer to delegate to a certain attorney and not another. You may also prefer a particular attorney to be able to make certain investment decisions, which is important for future inheritance tax planning needs.
Then there’s particular needs and preferences you may have, and how those decisions should be made, such as jointly or severally if you’ve appointed multiple attorneys.
These are very lengthy documents and must be correctly signed in a particular order. I am aware the Office of the Public Guardian returns lots of applications each year because of incorrectly completed applications, thus further delaying an already lengthy process.
FTA: At what age should clients make a will?
MUZ: Any age. For example, if you’re aged 18 think about what you have of value that you’d like to be distribute in a particular way. That could actually mean far more than jewellery, savings and investments.
Think about your digital assets – your social media accounts with thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers – there is a value attached to that. Who would you like that to go to and on what terms? You must receive professional advice.
