An elderly widow client - a nice lady on a state pension and some disability benefit - wants to make a lasting power of attorney. She wants things 'tidy'. To go through the umpteen pages will cost time and money. Are we looking at £500 + VAT?


These forms (doubtless with the best of intentions) seem hideous when set beside the old enduring power of attorney forms. Now, my client needs a certificator - she has not lost her marbles. That person will, if sensible, require a fee of, shall we say, £100 + VAT?



The costs equal six weeks' pension and still she has got to pay the gas bill and buy the veg. Who pays what? Should the solicitor act pro bono or write off the cost against his appointment as executor if offered? Or does the client skip a few council tax payments and go to jail?



Or have I lost the plot? We cannot operate in a vacuum. We need sense but it seems dreadfully absent in Westminster.



Lindsay J Keith, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex