Lasting Powers of Attorney are key to YOUR security.

My job is to protect both YOU and your FAMILY:

It is the conversation that counts: professional guidance need not be expensive.

• • • • •  Protecting your minor children by appointing the people you chose as Guardians rather than letting Social Services put them in care.
        • Avoiding disputes as far as possible.
        • To reduce the impact of taxation on your estate (some older Wills designed to save IHT now increase it substantially).
        • To ensure your estate goes to the right people and is as protected as possible, unmarried couples and nearly divorced people have special issues.
    • DO NOT buy an expensive Trust to put your home into in an attempt to avoid care fees. They have their uses, but not that one.
    •   Ensure your Will is up-to-date Will – take advantage of my FREE Review offer while it lasts.

I (Steve) have been writing Wills and Powers of Attorney for more than a quarter of a century now. All based in this area, but I got rid of my larger business so I could get back to doing what I enjoy most: helping people to take advantage of the protection offered by Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney (and sometimes Trusts) to protect themselves, their families and their assets.

Back in the 1800’s I would have been a “Man of Affairs”

                                                         – a title which is less appropriate these days!

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STOP PRESS:

Ladies, statistics indicate you are 30% more likely to die of Alzheimer’s / dementia than men, so please take control and PLAN AHEAD with my help – the earlier, the better. You need to decide who ensures you are looked after – your family or the Court of Protection.

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My job is also to protect YOU (and maybe your business):

• NO ONE has the right to make decisions for you should you become unable to, temporarily or permanently, not your husband, wife, and definitely not a common-law spouse.
• WHO DOES? The expensive and bureaucratic Court of Protection.  Almost certainly, with substantial lawyers’ fees on top.
• It is Almost INEVITABLE almost everyone will at some time – whether at 18 or 80 – need the support of their family when something serious goes wrong; car accidents are most common for younger folk, along with mental health issues, drug experiments, moving on through middle age depression or stroke to early onset dementia and a host of other misfortunes. Businesses are especially vulnerable.
• DID YOU REALISE joint bank accounts will generally be frozen if one account holder loses the ability to make decisions?
• Contact me to make Lasting Powers of Attorney at a sensible cost. Protect yourself as well as your family, an initial chat is free and without obligation.

 

Or learn more and check my fees:

How often should I review my Will (and other legal planning)?

Call me for a free chat: Tax rules change every year, asset values change all the time, Judges change the law regularly, Parliament update the rules, your family situation is always developing, and children have 18th birthdays. From then on, they are legally on their own: the Court of Protection is responsible for making their decisions if they can’t and don’t have LPAs. Octogenarians’ executors tend to be fairly old, too!

• Holes open up in your legal planning from time to time, so let’s work together and fix them – the review is FREE.
• How often should you review your Will and other Legal Planning? Not less often than every 3 years – sooner if there are significant changes in the family or law, or tax if you are aware of them. So it makes sense to join our Peace of Mind Service.
• Miss them, and (as an example) your beneficiaries might lose out on £140,000 – sometimes even more.
• A stitch in time can, for example, save the life of a loved one being run by Social Services, solicitors and the Court of Protection.

My advice is available throughout England and Wales, and face-to-face meetings are available in the local area.

But is a Last Will and testament the most important service I offer?

NO – except maybe for deathbed Wills. What is? CLICK.

See below the enquiry form for WHY both Professional Will Writers and you need regular updates…

I have been offering advice on Wills, Powers of Attorney, Trusts and Inheritance Tax Planning as a professional service since 2001.  I became the Sussex Chairman of the Society of Will Writers  and served for around 15 years (retired at the end of 2024 – at least from that job), and helped to ensure that our local members have access to adequate training and monthly updates.

Just recently, I have sold my larger Will Writing business and settled down to a more peaceful life without staff and a lot less admin – I love working with people.

I was also honoured by the Society of Will Writers at the 2024 Conference by being made a Companion – designation CmpnSWW, one of 5 in the country.

I am based in Polegate but am happy to work with pleasant people in Eastbourne, Hailsham, Seaford, Alfriston and by video call throughout England and Wales as well as by phone and email.

Visitors are welcome, ideally by appointment. I am just off the big Cop Hall roundabout where the A27 and A22 meet, or from the other direction, head north past Polegate School. Route Map (new window).

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“Stephen has recently helped me with both types of Lasting Power of Attorney, answering all my questions and guiding me with some difficult decisions. He’s very experienced, professional, friendly and polite. Happy to recommend his services to anyone.” Teresa Fowler.

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This means that I am well equipped to help protect you and yours when things go wrong, but last minute Legal Planning can only be a sticking plaster, a proper job requires planning and review.  Please don’t leave it just that bit too long:

 

Call 01323 766766 for a no-obligation chat with Steve Pett, the Professional Will Writer, or make an appointment for a free review. Route – pop in your postcode. Home visits can be arranged locally, but I have clients all over England and Wales so video and phone discussion are no problem as are out of hours meetings and chats.

Or just ask for my FREE Guide to Legal Planning.

As Recommended – The Professional Will Writer

Would a free informal chat be helpful? Use the Contact form or just call me – I can call you back evenings and weekends if you leave a message – though I won’t always get the message until the next working day. The Contact form is best.

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“Good evening Steve, It was a pleasure meeting you, I said to my daughter just like chums chatting yesterday, felt relaxed with you, so thanks for that alone.”

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Would a free informal chat be helpful? Use the enquiry form or just call me – I do try to answer the phone until 9 pm and at weekends if I can.

Why on earth would professional Will Writers need monthly updates?

This is why:

1. Every week, judges make decisions that re-interpret or even change the law on estate planning.
2. The government regularly tinkers with Estate Planning, trying to improve things, with new documents, online access, reducing key staff etc!
3. The Taxman is always keen to try his or her luck at anything that might bring in more Inheritance Tax, so the rules are not as stable as you might expect.
4. Above all, YOUR and your family’s circumstances are continually evolving.
5. Marriages and separations, divorces, births, deaths, sex changes, windfalls and bankruptcies all mean that previously sound Estate Plans no longer do what you might expect, and that is before you consider the previous four issues.
6. So, do you think you know who your legal next of kin is? You could be in for a shock!
7. People regularly complicate the lives of those left behind and rack up unnecessary lawyer’s fees.
8. What happens if no Will is found? Or are a couple not married? (Though there is a tiny bit of good news there.)
9. Could a Charity benefit from your Will? There could be tax savings…
10. Checklist and fees
11. If you are in England and Wales and want “a will writer near me” – I can help, and if you are far away and a face-to-face meeting is essential, we have 1,700 contacts, and one of them is bound to be within easy reach of you.

Is this the page you want? Checklist and fees.   Fair prices, no sales tactics, low overheads, and sound advice.

I recommend that all Legal Plans should be reviewed no less often than every 3 years – and more often if circumstances change.

That doesn’t mean that changes will be necessary – only that they might be. Many firms write Wills and other documents that lack flexibility. For example, some will mean that you have to update them if you have another child, or  that child will be left out.   Someone reading this will be in that situation – unknowingly. As a professional Will Writer, I will help if I can

Check my credentials as a Professional Will Writer in Polegate:

Make a Will in Polegate. Make a Power of Attorney in Polegate. Will writer near me?   Not a problem, we have contacts throughout the UK, just ask.

Enquiries or call 01323 766 766