Lesley Rushton outlines the arrangements Girlings' Wills, Tax & Estates team has in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With effect from Monday, 2 August 2021 our Receptions will be open to facilitate pre-booked appointments and we look forward to welcoming you. Appointments are also continuing to be conducted by telephone or video. Please contact us for details.
We have always operated a flexible approach to meet our clients’ needs and are used to talking to clients by telephone, over email and by video conferencing in order to take instructions for both Wills and Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).
If you wish to make a Will or LPA it is a relatively straightforward process:
1. Contacting Us
You can call one of our 3 offices at Ashford, Canterbury or Herne Bay, whichever is best for you.
2. Discussing your Needs
A legal advisor will discuss your needs and take your instructions. We can talk you through the process and advise on the costs involved.
3. Drafting Your Will and/ or LPA
If you instruct us to prepare a Will and/or LPA in the current climate we will still need to comply with our usual Anti-Money Laundering practices and obtain from you identification documentation and evidence of address. During the pandemic, this can be scanned to us by email or original copies posted to us. If the former, we will in due course require sight of the original documentation or certified copies of the original documentation to comply with the rules.
We will also require a signed retainer and Terms of Business. Electronic signatures are recognised for this purpose.
In addition we will need to assess testamentary capacity and establish a lack of undue influence.
We will send out to you an initial draft Will, either by email or by post, once we have taken your instructions and will require approval to that draft before we proceed to engrossment (preparing your final Will for signature) and signing.
4. LPAs and Certificate Provision
If you have instructed us to prepare an LPA for you then you will be aware that there is a requirement for a witness to your signature and a Certificate to be completed by a Certificate Provider. We will discuss with you your options for completion of the documentation, the witnessing of your signature and completion of the appropriate Certificate, tailored to your own particular circumstances.
5. Completion and Witnessing of your Will
Once we have your approval to your Will we will prepare the engrossed document for signing. This can be sent out to you by post with clear signing instructions for you to follow, or alternatively you can pre-book an appointment to meet in our office for the Will to be signed here.
We will have two witnesses available in the officw who will be present when you sign your Will and who then sign in your presenc ein accordance with the Wills Act of 1837.
We look forward to hearing from you and the Wills, Tax & Estates team and all at Girlings wish you and your family well during these challenging times.
Before relying on this commentary please read the Reliance on information posted section in our Terms of Website Use in our Legal section. Please note that specialist advice should be taken in relation to any specific queries and the information above is provided for general information purposes only.