A fiduciary duty

Fiduciary means to act for someone in a situation that requires trust and confidence. You might need a fiduciary to be your attorney, executor, trustee or deputy. Sometimes, there may be nobody you know personally who is suitable. Then you can ask a solicitor to act for you.

Wills

If you are thinking about your will but you don’t know who to appoint as an executor, consider us. An executor must administer your estate, pay your debts and distribute to your beneficiaries. If you feel your estate would benefit from having an impartial and experienced professional executor, we can assist if you name us in your will.

Lasting Powers of Attorney

If you are considering an LPA for property and financial affairs but you don’t have anyone personally who you trust to manage your finances if you lost mental capacity, we can help. You can name us as your professional attorneys. We have a depth of experience acting for clients as their attorneys when they can no longer deal with their own financial affairs. We will be ready to act on your behalf should it become necessary.

Deputyships

If your loved one has lost mental capacity, there is no LPA in place and nobody qualified to assist with their finances, we could apply to the Court of Protection (COP) to act as their deputy for property and financial affairs. We can then manage their finances and report annually to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) as required. We have years of experience in dealing with the COP and OPG as deputies for people who lack capacity and need help to deal with their affairs.

Trusts

If you need to set up a trust to manage a trust fund, think about appointing us as your trustees. We can act on our own or alongside lay trustees. We have extensive knowledge of managing trusts on an ongoing basis and the professional links to get the appropriate advice to manage the funds, such as for investment and tax issues.

NB: the above roles will require ongoing work and, as such, we will charge for our work for you on a regular basis once we are acting. As a professional deputy, our fees are scrutinised by the Senior Courts Costs Office if not fixed fee (see the Court of Protection Rules & Practice Directions). Other services are based on our previously agreed hourly rate.

NB: timescales and fees are subject to change – please ask for details.