Talking to your parents about their wishes as they age can be tricky. This includes making legal plans with or for them โ which is made even harder by the legal jargon you may need to wade through.
Sorting out legal matters with your parents sooner rather than later will make life easier if you need to make decisions about care, funding for care, and end of life.ย ย
Here is our short guide to the key legal jargonย that you may encounter. We have translated it into plain English, and included links to our easy-to-understand legal guides if you want more information about any particular areas.
Advance Decision
An Advance Decision, also known as a Living Will, is a statement explaining what medical treatment an individual would NOT want in the future, should they โlack capacityโ to make that decision at the time.
This may also be referred to as an ADRT (Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment). An Advanced Decision used to be referred to as an ‘Advance Directive’, but this term is not used anymore.
An Advance Decision includes the option of a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ order, which tells a medical team not to perform CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation) on a patient in an emergency.
Court of Protection
If someone is mentally incapable of making decisions and there is no Lasting Power of Attorney in place, the matter can be referred to the Court of Protection.
The Court of Protection will either make the decision itself on the personโs behalf, or appoint a โdeputyโ, to make the decision.
Estate
The Estate is everything that a person owns, for legal purposes. The Estate is made up of money, property, shares and investments, personal belongings and any money paid out on life insurance policies.
The Estate also includes anything that the deceased personย owes, including their debts.
Executor
The Executor is someone named in a will as having the legal responsibility for carrying out the instructions left in the will.ย
You require a Grant of Representation to confirm you are the executor.
Grant of Representation
Intestacy
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Office of the Public Guardian
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) protects people in England and Wales who may not have the mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, such as matters of health and finance.
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document which enables a person to give power to another to look after their affairs when they no longer have the capacity to do so themselves.
Probate
Statutory Will
A Statutory Will is a will that is written on behalf of someone who is unable to write their own. It needs to be approved by the Court of Protection.
Will
A Will, also known as a Last Will and Testament, is a legally enforceable declaration of how someone wants their Estate to be distributed after death.