Do you feel lucky?

Recently, I had a conversation with a kind lady, let's call her Mrs. Smith, who needed a Will and Power of Attorney. Her daughter, a consultant by profession, had dissuaded her from seeking professional assistance, assuring her she could handle the task herself. Mrs. Smith, a retired school teacher, was hesitant but trusted her daughter's judgment.

The daughter had never written a Will or Power Of Attorney before and had no legal training.

Could I do her job with 100% accuracy within a few hours? 

Do you think that she could learn to do mine in the same timeframe?

She was willing to gamble on her mother's house, life savings, future care and possibly her inheritance.

General home DIY is easy!

DIY injuries have risen by 47% due to DIY videos and online instructions. 

Some of the DIY disasters tradespeople have been called out to fix:

• Electric socket installations that caused a house fire
• Badly fitted kitchens with cupboards falling off the walls
• Brits are spending between £3k to £75k to fix bodged DIY. source (ECN)

DIY, online and unrealistically cheap Wills

According to estimates, 10,000 Wills are challenged every year, many more get settled out of court, and potentially even more have damaging errors that go unnoticed due to the low value of the estate. I have never seen a Will that deliberately states, "I would like to leave £24k to litigation lawyers and £60k to HMRC for tax." However, this is sometimes the unintended outcome. The potential for costly mistakes in DIY legal documents is a cautionary tale.

DIY LPAs

According to the Office of Public Guardian, 10,000 LPAs are rejected each month, and thousands more contain errors and unintended consequences that go unreported. Over 80% of the enquiries we received in the last 12 months have a request that could have caused confusion and distress for families if left unchanged. The consequences of DIY LPAs can be concerning, with a backlog of over 100,000 cases for deputyship from the Court of Protection because LPAs were not registered accurately before they were needed. Many people die whilst in the queue for permission to help their loved ones.

So, do you feel lucky? And gamble your health & Wealth.

Or will you call Fern Wills & LPAs, talk it through over coffee, and avoid the eight most common errors in Wills and the 40 most common mistakes in LPAs? Our experienced team can guide you through the process, ensuring your wishes are accurately and legally documented, giving you and your loved ones peace of mind.