Special Delivery Spring 2015 | Page 20

Your Local NCT

Ask the experts

My husband and I are thinking about financial and care arrangements for our young children but don't know where to start, please help!

Making a legally valid Will and updating it regularly is the only way to ensure that your wishes will be known and that your family will be safeguarded.

By having a Will you can appoint executors of your choice, and most importantly nominate guardians for your minor children. A valid Will nominating guardians is invaluable, as if no one knows what you wanted then the court will decide on the future of your children. By appointing guardians you can ensure that your children are looked after by the people that you have chosen. You may also wish to appoint alternative guardians, who will take their place if your intended guardians pass away.

Making a Will will also allow you to underpin your financial arrangements.

However, if you should die without having made a Will, your possessions will be distributed according to the strict legal rules (the Rules of Intestacy) and this could cause considerable hardship to your family and someone else will decide who will care for your children. By not preparing a Will you inevitably would cause difficulties for those you leave behind, at a time which is already distressing.

Making a Will is the only way to ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death. It brings security, reassurance and above all peace of mind – not just for you, but for all those who depend on you, either now or in the future. Don't leave it to chance or for someone else to decide for you.

Rosemary Slatter

Exclusively Wills Limited

Members of the Society of Will Writers

Established in 1997

To make an appointment for a consultant

to visit you or further information

call: 0208 408 0836 or visit www.ewltd.com

Please email us on [email protected] if you would like to ask the panel anything

I’m curious about hypnobirthing but I also want my husband to feel involved, will he be an active partner with a hypnobirthing approach to labour and delivery?

We all like to feel in control of our bodies and what is done to them, but so often women in labour feel so out of control that they surrender themselves and their baby over to others and often complete strangers. That is why the role of the birthing partner is so important. On television we are often shown fathers running around in a complete panic as their partners go into labour. But when they are educated in HypnoBirthing they feel empowered and confident. If our partner feels this way then those emotions are passed on to the labouring mother. In the same way that if your partner comes home from a terrible day at work even if you were in a good mood their feelings can soon be transferred on to you. If my children are struggling to fall asleep at night I lie with them and change my breathing pattern making my outbreath slower and before long they match my breathing and find themselves drifting off to sleep. Birthing partners can do this too and it really helps to have a calming effect.