Time Stamped Show Notes:

40s: Where is Roche Legal based and what do you do? They are based in York, they also share their Harrogate office with Truth legal. They are a specialist private client practice, they deal with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, probate and elderly clients. Rachel set up the firm in February 2014 and they now have 5 people and have bought their building in York.

2min 1s: What is the point in having a will? Anyone over the age of 18 should consider having a will so that their wishes are known and respected. If you die with no will then the rules of intestacy come into play but it isn’t always what you want.

3min: Are funeral wishes set out in a will? Yes but they are not legally binding.

3min 31s: Where does the will reside? Roche Legal hold the original and they send a copy out to you. You should tell your family that you have made a will. They register all wills with Certainty so if you do an online search you can find the will.

4mins 55s: What life changes require you to update your will? They can put contingencies in but you should review it every few years. It should be updated for things like if you have children, get married or divorced, buy a house, etc.

5mins 58s: A will is revoked on marriage? Yes the intestacy rules come into play if you get married or divorced, it would be treated as if your spouse died before you. You can put into your will a clause in contemplation of marriage.

7mins 1s: Can you stop a will being challenged? They would recommend writing a letter of your wishes or a statement stating your reasons for why you put things in your will.

7mins 59s: Are there time limits for challenging a will? Sometimes there are none but it is often 6 months from the date of a grant of probate. This is a document to give the executors the authority to deal with your estate which would be things like your bank account, your property, your car, etc.

8mins 58s: When should you use a solicitor? You don’t need to use one when you are making your will but it might not be valid or set out exactly what you want. You should see an authorised and regulated solicitor by the SRA because you will be covered by them if something went wrong and that isn’t available for unregulated firms.

10mins: About probate, if my parents die, can I deal with their things? Yes, you can deal with the administration of their estate yourself which can be simple or complex. You can see a solicitor to see if you should use them or not.

11mins 25s: What are lasting powers of attorney (LPA)? They are documents which are valid during your life for someone to make decisions for you if you are unable to e.g. if you get dementia. There are 2 types: health and care, and finance. If you do both at once it is cheaper and will take you less time.

12mins 46s: What are the charges? For a standard will it is £195+VAT, if you are a couple, you can get a mirror will it is £345+VAT. For trusts and care home fees they charge a fixed fee. Lasting powers of attorney is £425+VAT per power of attorney or £600+VAT for both. These need to be registered which costs about £82 per power of attorney.

14mins 34s: Is it too late to use LPA when you have dementia? They have to understand the authority they are giving over etc and if they are unable to sign then you need to make an application to the court of protection to appoint a family member as deputy over that person’s affairs. So having LPA before this avoids a lot of hassle.

15mins 33s: Everyone at Roche Legal is a dementia friend and Rachel is a dementia friend champion which means she can provide information about dementia to others and they can discuss it with the family.

16mins 44s: Rachel is a specialist in the court of protection which makes the decisions for vulnerable clients as to who should be appointed as deputy of their affairs.

17mins 58s: What was the most amusing thing you’ve seen in a will? There was a gift to a mother in law of a lemon so that she could suck on it!

19mins 3s: What are your top tips? We should break the taboo about death and dying, let your family know you’ve written the will and where the original is.

20mins 56s:  Where can people find you? The website is rochelegal.co.uk and they have Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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