Elderly Legal Services

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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 an 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 an 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
Offices across the UK
Professional and confidential service

For general enquiries

0370 1500 100

Or we can call you back at a time of your choice

Phone lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year
Emma McCann Partner Meet the team

Elderly Legal Services - More Information

"My legal team has held my hand throughout, they have been incredibly patient and understanding"

Joy Williams, client

Elderly Care Crisis: A Tipping Point

How you can prepare

Our new research predicts that the UK retirement living sector will run out of beds and face a multi-billion pound funding gap in the next 10 years.

This upcoming crisis means that planning ahead is more important then ever - find out more about how our Later Life Planning experts can help you prepare

"It’s never too late to start but the earlier you do the easier it is." - Richard Potts, CEO of IM Asset Management

“This has been a long, hard and emotionally exhausting battle for Joy. She has had to deal with the loss of her partner and the threat of possibly losing her home. I'm delighted that the judge has decided that Joy should own her partner’s share of the home they shared. This is the right judgement for our client who was placed in the intolerable position of having half her home being owned by her partner’s estranged wife.” – Paula Myers, Partner

Read More Client Stories

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is essential to make sure your wealth is structured as efficiently as possible.

We can help you:

  • Avoid paying unnecessary amounts of tax on your collective assets, or leaving your loved ones with a large tax bill after your death
  • Protect assets from divorce or financial difficulties
  • Make sure you have enough money once you stop working
  • Choose the right person to administer your estate
  • Appoint trustees to manage a trust you’ve set up for your children or other dependants – we can also act as trustees

Our solicitors and tax specialists will work with you to make sure your estate is structured in the best way to provide for your loved ones and give you peace of mind for the future.

Find out more on our Estate Planning page.

When Do You Need To Review Your Will?

Having an up-to-date Will is essential to make sure your plans for your estate reflect your current situation and include everyone you want to include.

Its good practice to recheck your Will every five years, especially to make sure it takes into account any changes in tax regulations that might affect you.

You should also review your Will following major life changes, for example if:

  • You get married or divorced
  • Any of your beneficiaries get married or die
  • New children or grandchildren are born who you want to inherit
  • There’s a significant change in your financial circumstances
  • You come into any inheritance – this could change the value of your estate and the Inheritance Tax payable

With our Wills Assured service, standard updates are free – so you don’t have to worry about paying extra fees to keep your Will fit for purpose. Find out more.

What Powers Does An Attorney Have?

An attorney only has the powers they are specifically granted in the terms of the LPA. It’s very important to word an LPA so that the attorney doesn’t have free reign, but so they are also able to make the decisions necessary to protect your best interests.

Depending on the terms of the LPA, an attorney might be able to:

  • Make investments
  • Make small gifts
  • Specify medical treatment.

For anything outside the terms of the LPA, they’ll need to apply to the Court of Protection, which looks after the affairs of vulnerable people who don’t have capacity to do it themselves.

Related Information - Elderly Legal Services

Financial Planning – more about our financial planning advice
Tax Planning – our experts can help minimise your tax exposure, including inheritance tax
Estate Planning – plan your estate so you can pass on your assets as efficiently as possible
Trusts – an effective way for many to protect wealth for the future

Awards & Accreditations

We're always proud to be recognised for the work we do for our clients and have been named as a leading firm in the latest legal guides - which provide information and recommendations about lawyers and law firms in the UK.

Private Client Team of the Year - Legal Business Awards 2018
The Times Best Law Firms 2019
chambers-2019
legal-500-2019

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About Irwin Mitchell

Founded in Sheffield in 1912, Irwin Mitchell has always been a bit different. Our advisers really get to know the people and business that we help.

It's what we call 'expert hand, human touch'.

We have offices around the UK so wherever you are, our experts can help.

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0370 1500 100

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