No one can take our house away ...thanks to ILAWS

Retired steel erector John Kelly, 77, has worked hard all his life and, with wife Sarah, is now mortgage-free. So it is no wonder that the couple want to protect their assets to ensure that their two children benefit. The Kellys had Wills arranged, but they have been redrawn by ILAWS Scotland and, at the same time, the retirees had a Property Protection Trust and Power of Attorneys organised, too.

Mr Kelly was very impressed with the process and the service they received from the Wills and estate planning experts. He said: “My good lady picked up the Sunday paper and saw information about ILAWS.

“She thought it was a good idea to get our finances in order.

“The guy from ILAWS came out to our house, we sat him down, and he spoke about everything before he wrote anything down.

“I didn’t really understand it all, but he explained it in a language that we could understand.

“He was very good

– I found him very professional.

“We have a bought house which is worth about £200,000, but now we have ensured that our son and daughter get 50-50 if my wife and I pass away.” In addition to a new Will, they secured a Property Protection Trust as well as a Power of Attorney.

The trust is designed to help protect your property from an assessment to long-term care fees. It ensures that if the survivor of the couple requires long-term care, at least half the property is preserved for the benefit of their children.

Mr Kelly explained: “If we go into full-time care, the Government can’t take the house off us.

“We did this because we don’t want the Government to take our hard-earned cash and the nest egg for our children. We wanted to safeguard them and to prevent them losing the whole lot.”

He added: “We are both in good health but having a Power of Attorney means that if anything happens to my wife or I, our daughter will take over the bank accounts and our finances.”

Now John is keen to advise other people to get their finances in order.

He urged: “I’d say go ahead, look into this and make sure your family is going to be the benefactor at the end of the day.

“To make sure it is all done properly, I would recommend ILAWS.”