Are you concerned about what will happen to your money and property if you lose your mental capacity?

You can lose mental capacity by suffering a brain injury, disease such as dementia or a traumatic event such as a stroke.  If you lose mental capacity you will lose the power to manage your own property and affairs.  This means that you cannot:

• Sell or transfer your home to anyone.
• Arrange contracts for the repair or upkeep of your property.
• Arrange buildings or contents insurance.
• Sell or transfer shares.
• Transfer money in or out of your bank account (if you have a joint bank account that account will be frozen to both you and your partner until someone is appointed to act on your behalf).
• Arrange life insurance.
• Arrange any contracts for holidays, buying furniture and equipment for your home.
• Engage in any business activities.
• Wrote cheques for food, clothing etc.

It also means that someone also may determine how and where you live and what care you receive.  However, you can make arrangements before you lose mental capacity that will ease your worries. 

You can create a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).  This is a legal document which enables you to appoint an individual now to make decisions on your behalf in the future if you are unable to make such decisions yourself.  This means that you can appoint your attorney now whilst fully able, making sure that this is an individual you trust to make the best possible decisions on your behalf.

There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney.  The first relates to your personal welfare.  Any individual or individuals you appoint to make decisions regarding your personal welfare can only begin to utilize this permission once you lack the capacity to do so yourself.  For example, should you have dementia or be placed in a coma.

The individual would then have the ability to make decisions on your behalf such as giving or refusing consent to certain types of health care or where and how you live.  Any decisions pertaining to life sustaining treatment must be expressly noted to your Attorney in the LPA document.  It can also incorporate decisions on more minor matters such as how you dress or the activities you are permitted to undertake.

The Lasting Power of Attorney is only effective if it has been registered with the office of the Public Guardians.

The second type of LPA is known as a Property and Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney and works in a very similar way but relates to the management of your property and finances.  Appointing an attorney in this capacity means that somebody will be able to carry out the mundane but essential tasks such as paying your bills or collecting your benefits and other income, assisting you by making telephone calls or writing letters on your behalf.

It is worth noting that a Power of Attorney relating to property and affairs can be used whilst you, are still fully able.  You do not need to have any diminished capacity. 

Enduring Powers of Attorney

For many years individuals in circumstances similar to those above drew up documents referred to as Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA).  If you already have such a document you should note that this cannot now be amended.  If it is not registered with the Office of the Public Guardian it can still be used although it will need to be registered if your Attorney believes you may become mentally incapable.  However, the Enduring Powers of Attorney can now be supplemented with a Personal Welfare LPA so that both your property and affairs and your health and wellbeing are looked after.  Should you wish to make alterations to a previously held EPA, you will now need to replace that with a Property and Affairs LPA.  The existing EPA can be unregistered at any time assuming you have the mental capacity to do so, however if it has been registered it can only be revoked with permission from the Courts.

Power of Attorney

Consequently this can be extremely useful if you choose to travel overseas extensively or live overseas for part of the year.  Similarly it can be utilised simply to assist in everyday life where certain individuals may have some difficulty, for example, they have impaired sight ensuring that certain tasks are more difficult.  The appointment of any attorney with such power would ensure that somebody had the legal ability to assist with some of these tasks.

Have you got one and if not, why not?

Now, more than ever with money being tighter than for a generation, you want to make sure your hard-earned money goes to those you intended.

Without proper advice that might never happen, despite your best intentions.We  were recently consulted regarding a “home made” will which, sorry to say,was riddled with legal defects. This meants that the original intentions can not be put into effect, indeed, there is a question whether the will is valid at all.

Problems like this can be easily avoided at an modest cost.Ask yourself this…just how much is yor estate worth to you?

To make sure you give the right people the right amount at the right time ( and lawfully minimise any money due to the tax manin the process) we strongly suggest you take proper legal advice. The cost can be as little as £100.

What price peace of mind?

Here at Willsons we pride ourseleves on our friendly professional approach to dealing with your legal affairs. To discuss making your will or other legal matters  just phone using the freephone number and we will do the rest.

A  recent case has indicated,once again,that failure to ensure employees are not subjected to discriminatory behaviour can prove extremely costly .

In a recent case brought in the Birmingham Employment Tribunal a female Muslim lawyer agreed to settle her claim for discrimination upon payment of £75,000 after enduring racist comments and harassment over a five year period at the hands of a senior work colleague.

This is a salutory lesson for employers to make sure that all staff conduct themselves in an approriate manner in the workplace.Ultimately it is the employer who is liable for the actions of their workers.

So far as employees are concerned the case shows once again that  significant awards can be obtained in  appropriate circumstances.

In either case it pays to take advice promptly upon this complex and developing area of the law.

From April 2009 the rules change again to increase the statutory miminum holiday entitlement  to 5.6weeks (or 28 working  days) for all full-time employees. This is ,of course,amended pro rata for part- time workers.

The allowance includes Bank Holidays and relates to paid leave . An employer may, of course, agree to an increased holiday allowance as this is a minimum requirement.

Pay must be made at the normal daily rate for the period of the holiday ,excluding overtime.

If you are an employer, therefore, you should make sure you review your contracts now to ensure that you will not be in breach of the regulations .

As an employee you should check to make sure that your employer is aware of the changes and is putting in place suitable arrangements.

There are no further changes in the pipeline…for the time being.

We at Willsons always work extremely hard to make sure our clients receive the maximum amount of compensation in any claim we handle.

We are proud to report we have surpassed £1 million pounds recovered on behalf of our clients in less than 2 years.

We are pleased to offer a “No win,No fee” service and are experienced in handling claims of all types including slip/trip cases,road traffic accidents,work place accidents, industrial diseases and victims of criminal assaults.

We also offer a free initial interview if you are not sure whether you have a valid claim or not so it costs nothing to find out!

Alternatively , you can simply ring our freephone number or  e.mail us your enquiry.It couldn’t be simpler.

Remember, we are always pleased to help .

Regrettably this will be  a word on many people’s lips this winter with national companies announcing redundancies running in to the thousands this week and unemployment at an eleven year high. Times are tough.

This makes it all the more important that you take proper advice to make sure the correct procedures are being followed in ,what is generally acknowledged to be,something of a legal minefield .

Employment legislation  is extremely complex and certainly one of the most complicated areas of law the vast majority of people will come across in their everyday lives.

A few moments taking the right advice at the right time can prove to be invaluable. We here at Willsons are pleased to offer that advice quickly  and clearly when you need it, in a friendly and professional manner.

If you have a query therefore concerning redundancy , or indeed any other employment-related matter, at this difficult time  do not hesitate to contact our expert employment team for clear and prompt advice in this complicated area of the law .

Asbestos-related claims have recently been the subject of review the outcome of which has resulted in a significant change in the way such claims are dealt with by the Courts.

The decsion affects thousands of cases across England and Wales involving medical conditions caused by exposure to asbestos fibres -such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma . Such illnesses are frequently initially detected by the presence of pleural plaques - a thickening of a membrane which surrounds the lungs.

These plaques do not, in themselves, cause illness but do indicate the presence of asbestos fibres which can lead to the onset of any one of the serious conditions mentioned .

The Courts have  now decided that the presence of plaques alone does not justify an award.This is because a claimant has to be able to demonstate actual physical harm-the plaques themselves do not cause illness ; although they may lead to illness in the future that in itself in not sufficient to justify an award of compensation .

This is so even if the anxiety caused by the presence of such plaques causes a recognised psychiatric illness , such as depression.

Some commentators feel that the Court has been unduly harsh.It seems unlikely that the decision will be over-turned , however, and the alteration represents a significant shift in the Courts’ treatment of claims of this nature.

If you have a claim of this nature you should ensure that you obtain specialist legal advice

If you have a claim and are not sure how to proceed contact our experts in our Personal Injury department who will be pleased to assist and advise you upon the best course of action to take .

Important changes affecting people who die without leaving  a will have  been announced by the Government. These are likely to have far-ranging consequences for the majority of people in the UK who still do not have a will.

The new rules will come into effect in February 2009 and will mean that the survivng husband or wife will receive a maximum of £250,000 from the estate, no matter what it’s value, if there are surviving children.

This rule will also apply to civil partnerships;however, the rule will  NOT apply to unmarried couples living together.

If you are at all unsure about whether you need a will , wish to review your existing  will or have any enquiries about wills or probate matters generally please contact our Wills and Probate  experts .Obtaining the right advice now may prove invaluable to you and your family  in years to come.

Important changes have recently been introduced regarding Maternity Leave that may have far-ranging consequences for employees and employers alike.

With effect from October 2008 existing rights, which previously applied to the initial 26 week period of Maternity Leave, have been extended so that they now  cover the entire duration of the extended Maternity Leave period i.e up to a maximum of 12 months.

It is important to remember , of course,that an employee on Maternity Leave retains full employment status and as such all of the rights which apply to any other employee.

It is now likely that the usual rules for possession will be relaxed following a recent directive from the Government but be warned…this does not mean you can now take a ” mortgage holiday”.

It simply means that the Courts are far more likely to be sympathetic to people genuinely trying to pay off  arrears.

Generally speaking a lender is entitled to issue possession proceedings if you are two or more months in arrers with your mortgage payments.

This means they can apply to the County Court to take legal ownership of your property . Even worse,they can then apply to evict you if you fail to leave the property voluntarily.

You should ensure that you make every effort to pay what you can realistically afford rather than pay nothing at all  because you are a few pounds , or possibly more, short. This will gain you far more credibility with the Court and increase your chances of a successful result dramatically.

If you do find yourself facing difficulties paying your mortgage ,you should certainly ensure that you take advice sooner rather than later. We are happy to advise on such cases having many years experience in successfully dealing with claims .You simply need to telephone, or e.mail if you prefer for an appointment to suit.