Margaret Rowe

Solicitor gives urgent warning about Government’s ‘risky’ online legal tool   by News team · November 15, 2016   A solicitor from FBC Manby Bowdler has joined a number of organisations representing older and vulnerable people to raise serious concerns around the Government’s online tool for creating Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs).   Partner Margaret Rowe has spoken out in support of the campaign by Solicitors for the Elderly that has been launched today (Nov 15).   An LPA is a powerful legal document that allows a person to appoint trusted individuals to make important decisions about care and finances on their behalf, in the event of a loss of mental capacity through an accident or illness such as dementia.   In May 2014, the Government’s Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) launched its online LPA tool, which it claims allows people to create the documents without the need for professional advice from a solicitor.   But a new report, published today by a coalition of organisations led by SFE, warns that anyone creating an LPA without taking specialist legal advice faces a significantly higher risk of being left with an ineffective legal document, incurring additional application fees, and even becoming a victim of fraud or coercion.   The report also raises concerns around the potential of a completely digital system proposed by the OPG, whereby ‘wet signatures’ – the physical signing of the document – would no longer be required.   Margaret, a Full Accredited member of SFE, said: “The prospect of being able to submit an LPA application entirely digitally is extremely concerning, and raises some serious questions around the potential for fraud and financial abuse.”   During a study conducted for the report, participants were invited to create LPAs using the OPG’s online tool and other ‘DIY’ methods. The study revealed that:      Some of the forms did not accurately express the way in which participants would want their affairs and welfare to be handled in the future    Documents made using DIY methods were more likely to contain elementary mistakes, rendering them ineffective and requiring additional application fees    Following consultation with a solicitor, most participants made significant changes to the permissions of their documents regarding how and by whom their affairs were managed   June McSparron, a 75-year-old who participated in the study, said: “You’re exposing yourself to a lot of risk by filling this form in on your own. There are so many bits that you can get wrong, and you can easily be pressured into making choices that you’re not entirely comfortable with.”   The number of LPAs being registered has increased steadily since the launch of the online tool, with over half a million registered in 2015/16 alone. The OPG is actively trying to convince more people to apply for LPAs online, having set a target for the service to comprise 30% of all applications from April 2016 to March 2017.   In its latest Annual Report, the OPG even admits it is willing to take ‘risks’ in striking a balance between ‘empowering and safeguarding’.   With the OPG already receiving more than 1,000 calls to its contact centre every day, the organisations behind the campaign say the Government body is potentially exposing people to unacceptable levels of risk and in doing so may be compromising its ability to safeguard those who are most vulnerable.   Margaret added: “An LPA is by far the most powerful and important legal document an individual can have, because it allows you to pass potentially life-changing decisions about your affairs on to a third party.   “It’s absolutely right that people should be planning ahead for the future with LPAs, but granting someone this sort of authority over your affairs is an extremely big responsibility for all parties involved. This is a specialist area of the law, and we recommend that anyone considering an LPA goes to a legal expert to ensure they get the right advice, consider all the options, and safeguard themselves for the future.”   To download the report ‘The Real Cost of DIY LPAs’ go to: http://www.sfe.legal

New care cap will still force many to sell home warns West Midlands solicitor

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People who wish to provide for care in retirement can protect assets by using their wills

That is despite the introduction of the £75,000 fees cap by the Government.

Margaret Rowe, partner at Wolverhampton law firm FBC Manby Bowdler, says that with the Government proposing a lifetime cap on care fee contributions by the elderly to £75,000 plus costs for food and accommodation, couples with homes valued from £250,000 upwards may still be forced to sell up to pay for care.

However, she says that those who wish to provide for care in retirement can protect their assets now by using their wills.

 

She says: “Anyone with property should start with a well-drafted will, which puts shares in the family home into trust. This is a simple, safe and proven method of limiting one’s liability for residential home fees.

“Most couples buy property as ‘joint tenants’, which ensures that when one party dies, their share goes automatically to the other.

“But by changing their ownership of the property to ‘tenants in common’, each party can leave their share to who they like, which opens the way to leaving their half of the house to their children, or, better still, to place it into a trust.

“If this is done, half the value of the house will be ring-fenced if the surviving spouse needs residential care.”

Mrs Rowe continues: “The government is proposing that from 2017 the threshold for means-tested support will rise to £123,000, but for the next four years it will remain at £23,250.

“Many people still do not realise that under the current system, anyone who requires care must pay all the fees out of their own money, unless and until they qualify under means testing. They only get benefits from the state to help with the fees when their capital has been reduced to £23,250.”

According to Mrs Rowe, most people also do not realise that there is no time limit for local authorities when it comes to assessing assets, such as the family home, which they believe were deliberately disposed of, when calculating care home fees.

She says: “If a local authority can prove that an asset was sold, or given away, primarily to avoid paying care home fees, then it can still count this when demanding a contribution from the care home resident and their family, no matter when the asset was disposed of.

“But by planning in advance, there are circumstances in which at least part of the value of the family home can be ring fenced and kept out of the means testing equation.

“Reviewing the provisions of a will should also give many people the chance to look at their inheritance tax provisions.

“With a freeze in the individual zero band limit of £325,000 set to continue until 2019, in order to help fund long-term care provisions, more people will be caught by this tax and should take advice on how to plan for it.”

Mrs Rowe and her team specialise in the preparation of wills, trust and estate planning. The team specialises in providing advice on wills, trusts and estate planning for older people.

Mrs Rowe and FBC Manby Bowdler’s team of specialist solicitors can be contacted on 01902 578000 or via www.fbcmb.co.uk.