I have my Will and Power of Attorney all sorted...I don’t feel I have to worry

Having discussions with loved ones about your finances and lasting wishes is something that Marie Welsh and husband Thomas, 70, did recently, before contacting ILAWS.

Mrs Welsh was very impressed with the service she received and now shares her experience with Sunday Post readers.

“They were so helpful. A lady from ILAWS came out to my house to arrange my Power of Attorney and my Will and she was very good. I’d never done anything like this before as I am not too comfortable with legal jargon but everything was explained to me in a language I could understand and I felt very comfortable,” she said.

All social distancing rules at that time were followed. Mrs Welsh added: “I felt completely safe as everyone sat well apart, and the lady wore a mask and had handgel by her side.”

Often a life-changing event prompts people into writing these essential legal documents – and that was true here, as Mrs Welsh explained: “I began to notice my husband was not acting the way he should; he was forgetful and just ‘not quite right’ for a while. It took a long time to get a diagnosis, but in October he was diagnosed with dementia.

“Writing a Will has been at the back of my mind for a long time. I am not a millionaire, but I do have things I want to pass on to the family, like a few pieces of nice jewellery.

“But I didn’t do anything about it until I began noticing small changes in my husband. I felt it was time to do it so I contacted ILAWS about writing a Will. Now I have my Will and we both have our Power of Attorneys all sorted, hopefully it will all go smoothly.”

The mother of two explained how POA will allow the couple to make medical or financial decisions on behalf of one another. She added: “It gives you so many options to protect each other. Our two daughters are also Power of Attorney.”

Having worked all their lives, the couple are mortgage-free but didn’t want to risk losing their home to pay for care home fees should one (or both) need to go into a care home, so they organised a title transfer through ILAWS too.

Mrs Welsh said: “The property is now jointly owned by our daughters, as we transferred our deeds. However, it protects us legally – they can’t throw us out. We are quite happy about this.”

Now that all these legal documents have been written up, Mrs Welsh admits she feels “less worried about the future”.

She added: “I don’t feel I have to worry about finances or what is going to happen.

“ILAWS provided a really good service. They walked me through it step by step. George had endless patience and was happy to answer all my questions.

“I would definitely recommend ILAWS to others after what I have experienced.”