Planning ahead for old age and making sure your affairs are in order can help you and your family secure your future. Many in our nationwide team of lawyers are members of Solicitors for the Elderly. Working with this specialist group, we’re experienced at putting plans in place for elderly and vulnerable people.

If you’re planning for your own future or you’re responsible for someone else’s, getting advice to suit your situation is important. Our lawyers give practical, tailored advice to help you manage financial, health and welfare issues that come with getting old.

Contact us to discuss your situation and set up a free initial consultation. Call on 0370 1500 100 or send us an email and we’ll call you back.

What Elderly Legal Services Can Your Solicitors Help With?

We can help with:

Wills – including living Wills or Advance Decisions to refuse certain medical treatments or resuscitation in future
Estate Planning – structuring wealth and assets efficiently so loved ones are looked after
Powers of Attorney – appointing someone to manage your affairs if you lose the mental capacity in future
Managing finances – for those who lack mental capacity to manage their own affairs
Care home fees - advice on how to structure your finances to plan for care home fees if you need it in future
Tax planning - including inheritance tax
Wealth Management – putting plans in place to help manage finances, investments and succession in future
Court of Protection Applications – this is a legal body that helps make decisions for someone who doesn’t have the mental capacity, applications may be to sell property, to make a Will or gift assets
Will, Trust and Estate Disputes – advice on how to sort out family disputes if anyone doesn’t agree with your decisions.

Many people we work with are concerned they or their loved one will lose the capacity to make important decisions later on. By getting advice early, our lawyers can help you plan ahead to make sure you and your family are looked after in future.

If you’re looking after a parent, you may be concerned about them having a relationship or getting married in later life. We can advise on how to protect your family assets and inheritance through pre and post nuptial agreements if needed.

Who Can Your Lawyers Help?

We can help you if:

You want to get your own affairs in order
You want to make a Lasting Power of Attorney
Your spouse or partner has died leaving you to handle all the finances
You’re a relative or carer of an elderly person
You’re an attorney or deputy for an elderly person
You’re a professional advisor such as an accountant or independent financial advisor.

You’ll get advice in plain English without the legal jargon so you can make the best decisions going forward. Call us to discuss how we can help on 0370 1500 100.

Later Life Packages

Our later life packages are a cost-effective and convenient way to start planning for a range of issues. For a fixed fee, you'll get a comprehensive information pack written by our solicitors and an in-depth legal consultation to go through any other questions you may have.

We can then put you in touch with the right experts to help you put your plans into action.

Attorneyship Support Package - Learn what you need to do if someone choose you to be their attorney
Deputyship Package - Guidance on how to fulfil your role as a deputy and make important decisions on behalf of a vulnerable loved one
Planning for Care House Fees Package - Care home fees can quickly add up. Make sure you've saved enough so you can get the care you need.
Later Life Relationships Package - Prepare for the extra legal complications that often come with starting a new relationship in later life
Inheritance Tax Planning Package - Learn about organising your estate so your loved ones can get the most out of their inheritance
Pre-retirement Planning Package - Get your later life plans in place as early as possible with advice ranging from pensions to tax planning.

Why Choose Irwin Mitchell?

You’ll get legal and financial advice all under one roof so you don’t need to shop around. Our relationship with you is built on trust which is why many clients ask us to act as executors of their estates, deputies or trustees if needed. Some of our lawyers are members of Solicitors for the Elderly and we know how to treat your situation with the sensitivity and care that’s needed when dealing with later life issues.

Many of our solicitors are Dementia Friend Champions. This means they’re dedicated to making a positive difference to people living with dementia. We work with many elderly people with dementia and their families to give them legal advice to protect their future. If people have a disability or illness, making it hard to understand what’s going on, we’ll communicate using different techniques, like using whiteboards and picture symbols.

We have offices across the UK so we can help you wherever you’re based. If you can’t travel, our lawyers can come to your home or wherever is most convenient to you.

Contact Us

Contact our team today for a free initial consultation. Call on 0370 1500 100 or send us an email and we'll call you back.

Extensive experience with high net worth clients

Detailed knowledge of inheritance tax and how to protect your assets

15 offices across the UK

Professional and confidential service

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0370 1500 100

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Elderly Legal Services - More Information

- What Is A Trust?
- A trust is a legal arrangement that manages money or assets for the benefit of specific people. When you set up a trust, you decide who will be in charge of the trust (the trustees) and who will benefit from it (the beneficiaries).
  
  Assets can still generate income once they have been placed in a trust. Properties can still charge rent, shares still collect dividends, and money can still generate interest. This income can either stay in the trust or be paid to beneficiaries.
  
  Assets may increase or decrease in value while in a trust – it is the trustees’ responsibility to manage this in the beneficiaries’ best interest.
  
  As such, trusts do sometimes have to pay tax. However, it can be more tax-efficient to put assets in a trust and receive income as a beneficiary than it is to receive the income directly.
- What Is Inheritance Tax (IHT)?
- Inheritance Tax (IHT) is a tax on the value of the assets that you own – your estate - when you die.
  
  If you have a life interest or right to income in certain types of trusts, IHT can sometimes apply to these trusts’ assets as well. It can also be charged on any gifts to a trust that you’ve made in your lifetime.
  
  IHT is taken from your estate before any assets are distributed between your successors. In some cases, certain assets might have to be sold to pay the tax.
  
  There are a number of reliefs and allowances that reduce the amount of IHT that your estate must pay. For example, assets that you leave to a spouse or partner are exempt from IHT.
  
  We can help you make the most of these reliefs and allowances and ensure that your successors can benefit from as much of your estate as possible. Contact us online to find out more.
- What Happens If I Don’t Plan For Care Home Fees?
- Unless you become very ill, it’s likely you’ll have to pay for most or even all of your care home costs. If you don’t plan for possible fees you can’t be sure how your estate will be affected in the future.
  
  Some of the consequences might be:
  - You have to sell your home to pay for fees
  - Your loved ones won’t get the inheritance you wanted to give them
  - You can’t take advantage of state support you should be eligible for.
  We can help you plan now so that both you and your loved ones are looked after for the future. Call today on 0370 1500 100, or use our online form and we’ll call you back.
- What Should I Think About When Making My Will?
- Everyone’s circumstances are different, but some of the things to consider when making a Will are:
  - The value of your estate – inheritance tax (IHT) is generally due on anything over the £325,000 threshold (£650,000 for married couples and civil partners) once mortgage and other debts are deducted
  - A new IHT allowance of £125,000 may apply if you own a property and leave some of your estate to relatives like children and grandchildren.
  - How you own your assets – if you co-own property with your spouse, the type of tenancy you have will affect whether or not they can continue to live there after your death
  - Who you want to leave your assets to (i.e. your beneficiaries)
  - Who you would like to be the executors of your estate
  - Whether some assets would be best placed in a trust for asset protection purposes.
  These are important decisions to make and you should seek legal advice to make sure your estate is structured in the best way for you and your beneficiaries.
  
  Read through our Wills Checklist to see if you’ve got everything covered.
- Why Should I Make A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?
- If you don’t have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place it may be hard for your loved ones to know what to do if something happens to you, or you lose capacity.
  
  Without knowing your wishes, they may find it difficult to manage your affairs and property, and they might not know what medical treatment you do or don’t want.
  
  They might have to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order so that they can take charge of your finances and make decisions on your behalf about the care you receive.
  
  This can be expensive and time-consuming, and everyone might not agree about who should have control and what decisions should be made.
  
  By making an LPA now, you can prepare for the future and make sure your wishes are respected.