Advising older clients – why it pays to take specialist advice

They are among the most important decisions you will ever have to make - how to finance your later years and provide for your family when you are no longer here. Some of us may also be responsible for making future plans for an elderly parent.

That's why, when it comes to seeking out legal services for older people, it's essential to find experienced solicitors you can trust. Working with a reputable lawyer, who has an in-depth understanding of the issues that can affect older and vulnerable clients and who takes into account your personal circumstances, will ensure you have all the necessary legal documents in place. They will also help you consider the pitfalls that may crop up in later life, and how to avoid them.

What specialist older client legal advice do we provide?

Here at Wards Solicitors, our specialist Wills, Probate and Mental Capacity team is committed to providing the best possible service for older clients and their families.

Key to our ethos is making sure we fully understand your needs and wishes when helping you to get your affairs in order. This means we are dedicated to:

• Protecting you as a person - making sure your intentions are understood to take the decisions you want in your best interests. This includes an in-depth awareness of the frailties and key illnesses that come with ageing and how to work with these;
• Protecting your assets - we can help you confirm your wishes in a Will, manage your finances to reduce the impact of Inheritance Tax for your loved ones, look at how to fund care in the future and set up a Lasting Powers of Attorney for finances and health and welfare to nominate a trusted person or people to handle your affairs if you lose the mental capacity to do so.

What professional older client care accreditation do we hold?

Most of our Wills, Probate and Mental Capacity solicitors are fully accredited members of the highly respected Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE).

This important national organisation demands the highest standards from the 1600 lawyers it currently endorses. This includes studying, learning and sharing best practice with other like-minded professionals.

Members must spend at least half their time working with older and vulnerable people (those unable to make their own decisions or those in need of help to do so) and demonstrate the necessary legal expertise to provide the relevant advice.

Wards Solicitors' Jenny Pierce, head of the Wills, Probate and Mental Capacity team, is a National Director of SFE and Regional Director for Bristol and Bath.

Many of our lawyers are also members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), approved specialists in inheritance and succession planning. Again, extra study and evidence of developing expertise in this area of the law is needed to acquire accreditation.

Get in touch

In these difficult times, we are here for all our clients providing a high-quality service via telephone or video call. We are still able to arrange a limited number of safe, socially distanced meetings when necessary.

Wards Solicitors is recommended as a leading practice in the 2021 edition of the independent Legal 500 guide.

We achieved rankings in three practice areas including Contentious Trusts and Probate and Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate in the guide which uses anonymous feedback from satisfied clients as one of its key means of determining which firms are listed.

For further help and advice about elderly client law, please contact Wards Solicitors' Wills, Probate and Mental Capacity team.

You can find your most local Wards office here.