TERMS & CONDITIONS & GENERAL POLICIES
TERMS & CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS 2024
Lasting Power of Attorney
Lasting Power of Attorney
Lasting Power of Attorney
1. We may ask a few questions about your recent medical history, this is entirely optional and you may decline to answer. If there’s concern about your mental capacity then a mental capacity report from a suitably qualified medical professional should be considered.
2. We may at our own discretion decline to prepare an LPA for you if you are unable to give us clear instructions. Alternatively we may advise that a mental capacity report be obtained.
3. If we have difficulty obtaining instructions from you and it takes longer than usual (usually not more than one hour) or if there is doubt that you are able to give us clear instructions then we reserve the right to make an extra charge. We will advise you of this when we know of the circumstances and will also provide you with an estimate in writing of any additional costs.
4. Should we advise that a Medical Certifier be obtained and this does not happen then we may at our discretion charge you for issues arising out of a subsequent legal challenge.
5. In making a Lasting Power of Attorney you agree that you as the Donor are our client and that the Attorneys you appoint are not our clients, but your Agents, who must act in your best interests.
6. If we are asked by your Attorneys to make an LPA without interviewing you, in exceptional circumstances we may agree at our discretion do so, but your Attorneys must take responsibility for the decision as to whether you need a medical report to establish your capacity or whether the Certifier to the LPA is sufficient.
7. You confirm that you have read (or had read to you) the Lasting Power of Attorney Information 2024 which will be sent out to you prior to your appointment.
8. You confirm that none of your proposed Attorneys in connection with a Lasting Power of Attorney for Property & Finance are an undischarged bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order.
9. You agree to pay the sum of £100 per Lasting Power of Attorney (if applicable) when we take your instructions, which sum will be deducted from your final account.
Wills
Lasting Power of Attorney
Lasting Power of Attorney
1. We are not medically qualified to give an opinion on your mental capability. If you can clearly tell us what your wishes are we will assume you have the mental capacity to make a valid Will. If in doubt you should consider obtaining a report on your testamentary capacity by a qualified mental capacity assessor. We may advise or require that this be obtained.
2. Our time guideline for an appointment is one hour.
3. If we consider your Will is complex and requires special provisions we will advise you at the appointment, together with any additional provision charges. If you are unhappy with any revised charge then we will discuss options.
4. We will ask you to make a payment equivalent to one half of the value of our costs estimate when we take your instructions and invoice you accordingly at our appointment, the balance of costs to be taken either when we inform you that the draft Will is ready to go out or when we attend to witness you signing your Will.
5. If you own a house registered at the Land Registry we will obtain a copy from the Land Registry at an additional cost of £3 for each property.
6. If your property is not registered at the Land Registry we will ask to see your Title Deeds.
7. Your Will advice does not include any specific or formal Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax advice. Should you require this please arrange to see a financial advisor.
8. Once you have approved your draft Will we will require you to sign a copy of the same, confirming that you understand and agree its contents and wish to sign the engrossment copy (the final version to be executed.) If you do not understand your draft Will it is important that you tell us.
9. You should review your Will every three to five years depending on your personal circumstances or changes to the tax or regulatory regime and consider whether it needs to be updated. We cannot predict, forecast or guarantee the tax and property regime at the time of your death and so your estate will be governed by the rules of such regime at the time and it will not be possible to contact or advise clients of such changes so it is vital you review your Will regularly.
10. If your Will is challenged after your death and becomes a live issue then you agree the cost of us supplying information or general involvement shall be chargeable to your estate at our standard charging rate existing at the time it becomes a live issue.
11. We do not provide storage for your engrossed Will (executed final version of your Will), but will advise you of your options for this.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Information
We take your privacy very seriously, but as part of our business we need to gather and use information (data) about you to protect you and to manage our relationship with you.
What information do we collect?
In the performance of our duties we collect a range of information about you and this includes, but not limited to:
· Contact details and date of birth
· Gender
· Marital status
· Sometimes we may take identification documents including photographic identification and utility bills
How do we collect your personal information?
We may collect personal information about you in a variety of ways. It is collected during the course of your instruction, either directly from you or sometimes from a third-party such as the Land Registry. Your personal information may be stored in different places, including a paper file, an electronic file and in other IT systems, such as e-mail.
Why do we process personal data?
We need to process data for contractual reasons and to ensure we are complying with any legal obligations.
Who has Access to my Data?
For the purpose only of carrying out your instructions we may share your personal information with third-party service providers (and their designated agents,) where applicable.
How long does the Company keep my data?
We will only retain your personal information for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and processed, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, tax, health and safety, reporting or accounting requirements.
Your rights
You have a number of rights, you can: -
Withdraw consent where you have given it. Access and obtain a copy of your data on request or require us to change incorrect or incomplete data. You can require us to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing.
In certain circumstances to restrict, request erasure, object to processing or request portability of your personal data to another organisation.
If you would like to exercise any of these rights please let us know.
Complaints Procedure & Anti-Money Laundering Regulations
We are committed to providing a high-quality service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.
If you have a complaint, please write to us at 3 Glebe Road Queniborough Leicestershire LE7 3FH or email us info@wheelerandgreenllp.co.uk
What will happen next?
We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within three days of us receiving the complaint. Your complaint will then be investigated and reviewed by the Complaints Handler, who may contact you to discuss your complaint or request further information.
Resolving your Complaint
Within fourteen days of acknowledging your complaint we will invite you to a meeting to discuss it and hopefully resolve the matter. Within seven days of the meeting, we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions agreed between us. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, we will send you a written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
Informing you of our decision
The Complaints Handler will send you a Final Response Letter with the findings of the investigations and the outcome of your complaint. You will then have a period of 4 weeks to respond, after which time we will consider the complaint to be resolved. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
We are not regulated by the Financial Ombudsman, but if you have a complaint you may wish to seek further advice from Citizens Advice – citizensadvice.org.uk
Anti-Money Laundering regulations
We will need to see some ID from you before we can start to do business. This may vary according to the nature of the transaction, but in the absence of an indication to you to the contrary we will need to see the originals of:
1) To prove your identity - Passport or photo driving license or bus pass or photographic disabled badge and 2) To prove your current address - Utility Bill or Bank Statement or Pension Statement (not more than three months old) or Council Tax notification
Retention and File Closure
You should make sure that you have a signed and dated copy of any agreements made between us and retain this as set out below, we recommend that you keep these documents in a safe place for a period of at least six years.
We do not provide storage for any engrossed (executed final version of a legal document,) but will advise you of your options for this.
Where there is no formal agreement, but an exchange of letters make sure you have a copy of the letters containing the agreement.
Keep any letters and correspondence written or received with your executed documents, such as a copy of the Land Registry details showing for example, your ownership.
If you have entered into a Deed of Trust for land such as a declaration of the proportions of your ownership make sure you have a signed and dated copy of this and you retain it as it may not be registrable at the Land Registry. If your Title Deeds are unregistered we advise you to place a copy of the signed Severance of Joint Tenancy in with your Title Deeds.
We may have to keep certain details to comply with money laundering regulations for a longer period.
After completion of your matter we will keep the paper files (if applicable) for such period as we think reasonable at our discretion. We may scan the papers and destroy the originals by confidential and secure destruction. In scanning the papers we may not scan the whole of the file, only such papers as we think are necessary at our discretion.
We will not scan the file or remove papers until six weeks after your transaction has completed. If therefore you require copies of any documents please request them within that six week period.
After six months it is agreed that we do not hold any legal duty to you to archive or store your paperwork or scanned files. This does not affect your rights if we have been negligent or in breach of our contractual or statutory or professional duty to you.
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Registered in England under No. OC442911 Registered with ICO under No. ZB346265