No matter how improbable it might seem it is always best to prepare for the possibility that at some point in our lives, either through accident, illness or infirmity, we may lose the mental capacity to manage our own affairs.
Here at Lewis Nedas, our lawyers have the legal know-how and expertise to help you put in place that all-important Lasting Power of Attorney, giving you the peace of mind that your future has been adequately safeguarded.
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows you, the ‘donor’, to appoint a trusted person or persons, known as your ‘attorneys’, to make decisions on your behalf.
In other words, it gives your attorney(s) the legal authority to act for you, often in relation to your property and financial affairs, although an LPA can also extend to decisions about your health and welfare.
In some cases, an LPA can be used while mental capacity is still held, and will continue after the donor has lost the capacity to manage their own affairs, whether this be on a temporary or permanent basis.
What are the different types of LPA?
There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney:
- The property and finance LPA – this allows an appointed attorney(s) to make financial decisions on your behalf. This can include management of your property, bills, benefits, savings and pension.
- The health and welfare LPA – this allows an appointed attorney(s) to make choices about your care arrangements and medical treatment, including, where elected, life-sustaining intervention.
It is generally recommended that you set up both types of LPA, given that each provides the attorney(s) with decision-making power for several important but very different aspects of your life.
A property and financial affairs LPA can be used either while you still have capacity, but practically you need help, for example, during a stay in hospital, or if you become unable to manage your own affairs. Once registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), it can be used immediately or held in readiness until required.
In contrast, given the nature of the decisions to be made on your behalf under a health and welfare LPA, this will only come into force if you lose the mental capacity to make decisions for yourself.
Who should I appoint as an attorney?
When creating a Lasting Power of Attorney, you can appoint a single attorney, or more than one attorney, although where you select more than one, you will need to decide whether they can act jointly, or whether some decisions can be made by a single attorney acting independently.
Needless to say, caution should always be exercised when deciding whom to appoint as an attorney. By creating an LPA, you are giving another person, or persons, the right to make significant and potentially life-changing decisions for you. As such, you must be confident that you only appoint people that you trust will act in your best interests, and also that they are willing and able to do so.
You may want to record your wishes concerning certain matters while you are mentally well. In this way, your attorney(s) will have some guidance on what decisions you would like to be made in the event that you can no longer decide these things for yourself.
In relation to the issue of life-sustaining treatment, given the gravity of any decision made here, when creating an LPA you will need to specifically decide whether you give your attorney(s), or your doctors, the decision about accepting or refusing medical treatment to keep you alive.
For a Lasting Power of Attorney to be valid, you must be aged 18 or over, and fully understand the implications of the arrangement at the time of making it. An independent certificate provider will need to sign the forms to say that you are aware of the implications and that nobody is pressuring you into this decision.
Any attorney you decide to appoint will also need to be aged 18 or over and have the mental capacity to make decisions on your behalf.
How do I set up a Lasting Power of Attorney?
Having completed the prescribed form(s), you will need to register an LPA with the OPG. A Lasting Power of Attorney will need to be registered before it can be used. This is a process that can take several weeks, so you may need to plan ahead, especially if you have a progressive illness that is likely to affect your mental capacity.
The fee to register an LPA is £82, although this may be reduced or waived if you are on a low income or in receipt of benefits. If you complete both prescribed forms, to create two LPAs, you will need to pay £164.
Please note, when creating a Lasting Power of Attorney it is always best to seek expert legal advice to avoid any mistakes being made and potentially voiding the entire application. If the correct legalities are not complied with, your attorney(s) may be unable to act on your behalf, if and when the time came.
Contact Our Lasting Power of Attorney Solicitors, London
Lewis Nedas' Lasting Power of Attorney Lawyers draw on years of legal experience advising clients in relation to the preparation, supply and registration of a Lasting Power of Attorney.
We will provide tailored advice, taking into account your particular personal and financial circumstances, helping you to make the right choices when creating an LPA to enable someone else to make property and finance and/or health and welfare decisions on your behalf if the need ever arose. Our lawyers are also able to offer expert legal advice where an LPA has become the subject of a dispute.
For further information or assistance, please contact us on 020 7387 2032 or complete our online enquiry form.
