What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
Do you have someone in mind who you would like to look after your affairs if you are unable to? If you do not have a Lasting Power of Attorney then that person(s) may not be bale to make any decisions for you, it will be the courts.
When people become unable to look after their own affairs, they generally want those closest to them to look after their affairs on their behalf. People often assume that this is an automatic right, even if they, for example, have savings or investments in their sole name. But this is not necessarily the case and where no representatives (attorneys) are pre-appointed, they may have to apply to the Court of Protection. Sometimes the court will appoint a court official instead of a relatives.
So what is the solution?
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint people (known as ‘attorneys’) to make decisions on your behalf should you become unable to make your own.
There are 2 types of lasting power of attorney:
Health and Welfare
This allows you to choose one person or more to make decisions about things like:
- your daily care routine
- medical care
- moving into a care home
- life sustaining treatment
This type of Lasting Power of Attorney can only be used when you are unable to make your own decisions.
Property & Financial Affairs
This lets you chose one person or more to make decisions about your money and property, such as:
- paying your bills
- collection of benefits
- selling your home
This type of Lasting Power of Attorney can be used as soon as it is registered, with your permission.
You may choose to make one type or both. In order to do so you must be over the age of 18 and have full mental capacity, it is too late to put a LPA in place once mental capacity is being lost, even if it’s early stages. The sooner an LPA is put in place the better it can be so it is not disputed later down the line.
Read our article on why having a Lasting Power of Attorney in place means we are ensuring responsibility for the future – read here.
Do you need further advice or would you like to go ahead and create your own Lasting Power of Attorney?
Email us at [email protected] or give us a call 01522 500823 and our specialist team will talk through your options and how we can help.
