Member Article

Wright Hassall lend a hand to Women's Institute

The Warwickshire branch of the Women’s Institute has praised one of the region’s law firms for providing a helping hand to their members during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Anne Bufton-McCoy, Chair of the Warwickshire Federation of Women’s Institutes, invited Leamington law firm Wright Hassall to deliver two virtual workshops to more than sixty of its members focused around safeguarding their wealth and assets for the next generation - as well as their own welfare - should the worst happen.

Anne said: “The devastating impact of the Coronavirus has prompted a lot of our members to ask themselves what would happen to their assets if they were to pass away or fall seriously ill from this disease.

“It’s a topic that none of us want to have to think about, but it is so important because, after all, we want to ensure that the assets and wealth we have worked hard for all our lives go to our loved ones if at all possible.”

The sessions focused around planning a will - including who will oversee it and ways of protecting assets from inheritance tax, as well as the importance of appointing a power of attorney to ensure that only people you trust can make decisions on your behalf if you no longer have the capacity to do so.

Anne added: “The sessions were brilliant and really enabled some of our members to gain clarity on a pathway to follow to enable them to resolve the concerns that they had over their own situation.

“The Women’s institute is all about learning with like-minded people and these sessions from Wright Hassall have definitely helped to reassure some of our members.”

The Wright Hassall seminars were delivered by Tracy Ashby, Head of the Private Client Team and Rachael Kell, Probate Manager.

Tracy explained: “The pandemic has forced all of us to not take anything for granted and to think about the unthinkable. So understandably, planning for later life is now at the front of people’s minds.

“We were really keen to answer Anne’s call for help, as we know first-hand that community groups such as the Women’s Institute play a key role in reaching out and connecting people who need support with organisations that can provide it, such as ourselves.

“Having a will and power of attorney are crucial legal arrangements. If you don’t have a will then where your wealth goes once you have passed away not only falls out of your control, but it becomes more costly by going through the courts - and could, in some instances, even result in litigation between family members.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .