Wills
Your will lets you decide what happens to your money, property and possessions after your death.
If you make a will you can also make sure you do not pay more Inheritance Tax than you need to.
You can write your will yourself, but it is prudent to have it written by a solicitor. Ashford Advice have a resident solicitor who can write a professional will. Call 01233 626 185 for further information
You need to get your will formally witnessed and signed to make it legally valid
If you want to update your will, you need to make an official alteration (called a ‘codicil’) or make a new will.
If you die without a will, the law decides who will inherit under the Rules of Intestacy
Power of Attorney
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf.
This gives you more control over what happens to you if you have an accident or an illness and cannot make your own decisions (you ‘lack mental capacity’).
There are 2 types of LPA:
- health and welfare
- property and financial affairs
You can choose to make one type or both.
You can make a lasting power of attorney (LPA) online or using paper forms.
Either way, you need to get other people to sign the forms, including the attorneys and witnesses.
You can get someone else to use the online service or fill in the paper forms for you, for example a family member, friend or solicitor.
Ashford Advice have a resident solicitor who can complete the forms on your behalf. A power of attorney is a very important document that carries a lot of power. The Office of the Public Guardian does offer free forms that you can complete yourself, but our service offers additional support and guidance and enables you to have your document completed by our specialist solicitor
The aim of our specialist completing the forms is to make sure your power of attorney can be used as intended when you need it to. Small errors or mistakes may go unnoticed until the rights under the power of attorney are exercised, and if mental capacity has been lost, then it is too late to make a new one.
There is a fee for this service (£92.00/PoA to Office of the Public Guardian and a solicitors fee, (Ashford Borough Citizens advice will perform this service with a fee starting at £150)
You must register or your attorney will not be able to make decisions for you in the future
If the donor already lacks capacity you may have to apply to be a deputy instead
Last Updated on May 8, 2026 by Ashford Advice