power of attorney

[denise]

Have heard through the grapevine that there is a solicitor's in Thurso advertising Wills & Power of Attorney's for £149................. Does anyone know which Solicitors it is. Thanks

[Phill]

Try the mannie in Wick, get a divorce as well, maybe a discount for all three!

http://myscottishattorney.co.uk/

[Fran]

you can make a will on line for £60

[laguna2]

You can buy a Will form from good stationers - perfectly legal as long as they are filled in correctly and witnessed as instructed.

[aidipi]

I did see an article by Bruce de Wert who is at Gerogesons in Wick. For anyone who has already made their will it is good advice to ensure you have also a lasting Power of Attorney.

[denise]

Was looking for the Power of Attorney, was hoping to get the ball rolling for my Dad when I was up in Caithness next week, have looked at doing it on line but thought the Will & Power of Attorney for £149 was a good price & less hassle for me............. My Dad thought he seen it in the window of the Solicitors near the Comm........ not sure which that one is tho

[sids]

Get it sorted before he spends it all in the Comm.

[gillsbay]

Was looking for the Power of Attorney, was hoping to get the ball rolling for my Dad when I was up in Caithness next week, have looked at doing it on line but thought the Will & Power of Attorney for £149 was a good price & less hassle for me............. My Dad thought he seen it in the window of the Solicitors near the Comm........ not sure which that one is tho

That would be Dreever and Heddle they are in the same block as the Comm

[denise]

Thats exactly why Sids....................lol

Thanks gilsbay, will make appt for next week when Im up.

Cheers

[oldmarine]

you can make a will on line for £60
That looks like the best deal so far.

[pat]

You have to have proper advice as to how to set up Power of Attorney and correct advice on a will as you must abide by the law of the land not just what the person thinks they can do.
Pay for the legal advice it is cheaper and more dependable in the end

[denise]

£280 plus vat for Power of Attorney, £90 for a will, then £70 to submit or something......... bloomin heck my Dad nearly had a heart attack........ typical Caithness Man "Im not paying that" so back to the drawing board................lol.

[sids]

Get it on tick, then pay out of his money once you've got the power of attorney.

[Smithy]

You can get all the paperwork from the public guardian office. They have samples available on line for power of attorney for both financial and welfare. Really quite simple to do and the cost is only about £70 I think when i done one. I typed up the document and it was signed by my GP then sent off. If I can give you any more information please PM me.

[Crackeday]

Power of attorney can be done by yourselves.
The following is copied from direct.gov
You do not normally need professional advice to make a Lasting Power of Attorney as the forms are designed to be easy to complete. Depending on your situation, it may be a good idea to get advice from a solicitor before making a Lasting Power of Attorney. This can be useful if you have complicated personal, property or financial affairs.
A Lasting Power of Attorney can't be used until it's been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Age Scotland and the CAB would be a good port of call as well.
Why pay loads of money for something that shouldnt be that expensive?
Good Luck

[~~~Tides~~~]

That looks like the best deal so far.

£60.00 for something that could so easily be totally worthless is not a good deal. Very very risky as to whether it will be enforceable in any jurisdiction, let alone Scotland, where there are different and specific rules of succession. Same applies to the ones you get in stationers. Even if they are enforceable, it cannot suggest more financially efficient ways of providing for your family, or foresee what problems may be presented by your estate that you may have never considered.

£270 might seem steep for getting everything properly tied up by a properly (professionally insured) solicitor, it is a drop in the ocean compared to what would have to be paid sorting out a legal wrangle following intestacy through negotiation or the courts, that could potentially cost thousands.

[poppett]

Public Guardianship office in Scotland is based in Falkirk. Cheap, friendly service. If you phone them they will talk you through every stage of the paperwork. Even something slightly out of the ordinary did not phase them. GP charges half the amount for medical report if being done privately, through a solicitor it is more than double.

[brucedewert]

I am the "Mannie" mentioned by Phill offering online Powers of Attorney. :)

I will try to set out your options.


Generally, in life, you get what you pay for and if you want professional advice, sadly, it does not come cheap.


When I set up www.MyScottishAttorney.co.uk (http://www.MyScottishAttorney.co.uk), I did some research and the average price for a solicitor to prepare the Power of Attorney was £270 including VAT. That will include the cost of the Solicitor signing the required certificate to the effect that you are of sound mind and know what you are doing.


The service usually involves two meetings with the solicitor, the first to take instructions on the second to carry out the signing and certifying. The solicitor will also complete all the forms for your attorney to sign and arrange for registration at the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland).


You will have to pay an additional £70 for the registration but that does not go to the solicitor but to the public Guardian.


That's the professional option.


You can do it yourself but the perils are very well exemplified by Crackeday who has, unfortunately, referred to the English system. You don't know what you don't know.


Yes, it is entirely possible to do it yourself and Smithy correctly points out that there are sample Powers of attorney on the Scottish Public Guardian's website. They do point out, however, that they are only there to give you examples and they do not pretend to be anything other than that.

You can imagine that if I have set up a website that I will have a great deal of experience and knowledge of Powers of Attorney and I can assure you that the "samples" do not cover all the scenarios that a professionally prepared Power would.


And that is the problem for anyone who's not a lawyer. You might well be able to type something up but does it cut the mustard when it is needed?

Lawyers are expensive and I can understand the resentment that that may cause but, sadly, it is plain economics. It costs a lot of money to set up shop, get insurance , pay your Law society dues, employ secretaries and receptionists and, so, of the £270 you pay, not a lot goes into the back pocket of the lawyer.


Most people want a personal service but if you are one of those few who do not require it and are Internet savvy there is a very good solution. Make your power of attorney online on my website. I am a solicitor. I designed it. It's not as flexible as going to see a solicitor but it is only £99 plus the £70 you must pay to the Office of the Public Guardian. If you go to your doctor for the certificate, he or she may charge but maybe not. A solicitor will charge something but if you come to me it would only be £30.


That's quite a saving.

I think that ~~~Tides~~~ has it right in saying that you have to reflect on what it would cost to make a mess of it. That's why you have properly trained and certified professionals. Nothing is perfect in this world but we do try our best.

And, no, Phill, there is no discount for getting a divorce at the same time :D

If there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask and, furthermore, I'm always looking for issues to discuss on my blog, so don't hesitate to suggest something.

Bruce de Wert Solicitor
Georgesons (http://www.Georgesons.co.uk)

You can read my blog, including issues of Powers of attorney at www.MyScottishLawblog.co.uk (http://www.MyScottishLawblog.co.uk)

[Phill]

And, no, Phill, there is no discount for getting a divorce at the same time :DBliddy typical!! How 'bout discount fer cash? :Razz