Death, Divorce & Dementia – Martin Lewis Urges You To Have The ‘Unpleasant Chat’

Earlier this week, Martin Lewis spoke about the Three Ds – Death, Divorce and Dementia on the Martin Lewis Money Show Live. Lewis addressed why family members should talk to each other about these life-changing issues and added that “it may not be pleasant, but it is important.” 

My @itvMLshow on Tue is on mitigating financial impact of the three Ds, death, divorce & dementia

If uv questions on wills, power of attorney, managing finances in relationships, funeral plans, equity release etc. Ask by reply using #MartinLewis or email martinlewis@itv.com team

— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) March 10, 2023

The financial and emotional cost to loved ones, by not looking to mitigate the impact of these three Ds (death, divorce and dementia), can be dire. 

Whether it is a conversation with your old parents or your adult children, we, at Anthony Gold Solicitors, would encourage you to have what Martin Lewis calls the “unpleasant issues chat.”  

Don’t miss it. Tonight 8pm @itvMLshow on ‘unpleasant issues’ – the things we all should talk about but don’t. Free wills, power of attorney, funeral plans, equity release

If uv questions on those or owt else, ask via reply using #MartinLewis or email team at martinlewis@itv.com

— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) March 14, 2023

These conversations are not easy and might make you want to run away from the situation or ignore the discussion altogether. However, it is important to be unemotional, candid, and even a bit blunt, if and when required, when sitting down to have that chat.

Martin said on the show:

“We all have an obligation to each other and… towards our families to make sure that we minimise the impact of death as much as we possibly can. They (family members) are going to go through grief, the last thing you need is to add administration and cost and hassle on top.”

Martin addresses some important options that you, as someone with a family or a loved one, should consider urgently, in order to ensure that you and those around you are secured, financially and emotionally, just in case any of the Three Ds happen to impact your life.

What are the best ways to minimise the impact of death, divorce, and/or dementia?

Make a Will

The last thing you need is to worry about is what will happen to your minor children, money and possessions after you die. Yes, making a will can feel like a daunting task. However, with proper advice and a well-defined plan provided by an experienced solicitor can help you ease out the journey. 

Using an online will-writing service or getting your will drafted by someone who is not a lawyer are also a couple of options that you may consider. You may even consider writing a will by yourself; however, we would not advise you to do so, especially if you have a house and/or dependants of any sort. 

Making a will is not something to be taken lightly. There are a lot of places where you can get your will made for cheaper than you would, if you were to become our client. But are you really willing to risk your hard-earned money and the future of your family on a will that may not be as detailed, and fool-proof as the one our experienced solicitors can provide you with? 

If you need more help understanding why you need to make a Will, please watch the following video: 

Contact our Wills, Trusts and Estates team to get your Will made today.

Get A Lasting Power of Attorney

While making a will should always be your first priority as we all know that death is certain, you should also think about a situation in which you lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself, either due to developing a form of dementia or because of a life-changing accident. 

A Lasting Power of Attorney enables you to decide who would make decisions regarding your money, property and other assets in case you are unable to do so yourself. 

According to the National Institute of Health and Care Research, approximately 2 million people do not have mental capacity to make decisions for themselves within England and Wales. These 2 million people need the support of over 6 million other people in order to make their decisions on a day-to-day basis. Anyone. Including you, can lose mental capacity at any time. 

The consequences of not having a Lasting Power of Attorney can be extremely serious, including but not limited to the freezing of your properties and other assets and a cut off from access to your bank and other investments. 

If you need more help understanding why you need to get a lasting power of attorney, please watch the following video:   

Consent Order

Even after an amicable divorce, you should get a Consent Order drawn up to record any financial agreement to make it legally binding. If you don’t have one, you may find your ex-spouse/civil partner can make financial claims against you in future.

While there are more ways to minimise the impact of the Three Ds – Death, Divorce, and Dementia – on your life, we’d like to thank Martin Lewis and The Martin Lewis Money Show Live for highlighting such crucial yet highly ignored aspects of our families’ happiness.