It is important that everyone, carers included, makes a will. This is even more important if the person you care for has a learning disability or lacks capacity in other ways. By writing a will and setting up a trust, you can make sure that a family member or friend with a learning disability, etc will get the financial support and protection they need after your death.
If you set up a discretionary trust with a solicitor it will become active when the last remaining parent dies. It can encompass not only your son or daughter with a learning disability, but their other siblings too if you wish. You will have to appoint trustees while you are still alive to administer the trust when you are deceased. It is best to choose people who are a generation younger than you, so that they will be around for a long time to support your relative.
Contact Carers Bucks who can signpost you to solicitors who can help with wills and have experience of setting up trusts.
If you care for someone with a learning disability Mencap run a Planning for The Future service to signpost people, and have useful information they can send you. They also run seminars about wills and trusts around the country throughout the year. They can advise you on where these are in your area.
It is also possible for someone with a learning disability to make a will, if they have
capacity to do so. It is best to get specialist legal advice to set one up.
