It is hugely important to make a will, and once you have done so, it’s natural to review your arrangements as you get older and your circumstances change.
If someone has lost the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, it is highly unlikely they will be able to review their will or make a new one if they have not yet made a will at all.
It is not legally possible for anyone to make a will on somebody else’s behalf, even if they have been formally appointed as a deputy by the Court of Protection or granted a Power of Attorney. Instead, a specific application has to be made to the Court of Protection under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for authority to make a will for them.
A new will can only be made where it is proved to be in that person’s ‘best interests’, but that very much depends on the individual circumstances of each case. The Court has to consider a variety of factors, including those that the person lacking capacity would take into account if he or she were able to do so.
The complicated nature of these applications means that proceedings can become contested if different family members have competing financial interests.
So a Statutory Will application is rarely straightforward and it is vital to take legal advice from a professional Court of Protection Solicitor who specialises in this type of work. The legal costs of a successful application are usually paid from the funds of the person lacking capacity.
Lanyon Bowdler has its own specialist Court of Protection team, and is one of the very few legal practices in the area to do so. Our expert solicitors deal with lots of applications each year and have the necessary experience to advise you on the procedure from start to finish.
Give us a call or complete our online enquiry form, to see how we can help. We have offices in Telford, Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Ludlow, Bromyard, Hereford and Conwy, so are able to act for clients all over Shropshire, Herefordshire, Mid and North Wales and across the Midlands.
Please contact Neil Davies, Head of Court of Protection, or one of his team for a friendly chat about how we can help.
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Lanyon Bowdler is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). SRA number: 534828.
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