It’s a legal document registered with the Office of the Public Guardian where you give someone the right to make decisions, in relation to Finances or Health (or even both), on your behalf.  An LPA can only be created whilst you still have mental capacity to make decisions for yourself. The documents can be set up to be used straight away or only when you lose your ability to make the decisions yourself.

If you ever lose your capacity to make decisions, you’ll need someone you trust to do it for you. Make it easier for that person by choosing them now, with a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

A Living Will is a document that allows you to refuse medical care or treatment if you’re ill or have an accident, and can’t make decisions or communicate. It’s also called an ‘advance decision’ and is legally binding – so your family and medical staff have to follow it.  However it can only be used when you don’t have the capacity to make or communicate the decision yourself.

An Advance Statement sets out your likes and dislikes, and anything you want to make you more comfortable. So that might be things like whether you’d like to be cared for at home or in a hospice, who you want to be consulted about your care, right down to the food you do (or don’t) want to eat. Advance statements aren’t legal documents, so your family or carers don’t have to follow them – but they’re useful guidance for people to know how you’d like to be treated if you can’t tell them yourself.

An advance statement sets out your likes and dislikes, and anything you want to make you more comfortable. So that might be things like whether you’d like to be cared for at home or in a hospice, who you want to be consulted about your care, right down to the food you do (or don’t) want to eat. Advance statements aren’t legal documents, so your family or carers don’t have to follow them – but they’re useful guidance for people to know how you’d like to be treated if you can’t tell them yourself.

It’s never too early to make a Will as long as you’re over 18. Even if you don’t have much to pass on now, it is still important to document your wishes. And if you’re at all worried about what will happen to your money, property or things after you die then you should get your wishes down on paper. There are also various big ‘life events’ which make having a Will a good idea – so that’s things like buying a house, getting married (or divorced) or entering into a civil partnership, having kids or starting a business.

And don’t forget about it once you’ve done it – you should review your will every three to five years to make sure everything’s still right.

You should keep your Will in a safe and secure place.  You could ask a solicitor or bank, though they might charge you for it.

However if you create a Will with LegalZoom we will store your Will free of charge for as long as you wish.  We will also register the storage of your Will with Certainty, the National Wills Register, so that should your Executors not know where your Original Will is, they can find it through Certainty.

You can also store it with the Probate Service for a flat fee of £20.