Lasting Power of Attorney

Staying in Control…..

In some cases, having a Lasting Power of Attorney can be just as important as having a Will. Whereas making a Will affects your family after you have gone, what about whilst you are alive?

There may come a time due to an accident, a stroke or illnesses such as dementia and alzheimer’s disease, that you become unable to look after your own affairs and will require someone to assist you.

There is a misconception that your spouse or adult child automatically has the right to look after your affairs and it often comes as a huge shock to most families when they discover that they legally cannot! If you lose the capacity to deal with your own affairs, without the official documentation, then your loved ones cannot take over for you. Often your bank account/s will be frozen and of course the bills mount and family stress levels rise rapidly.

A Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a friend, relative or professional as an ‘attorney’ to make decisions on your behalf should there come a time when you can no longer deal with your own affairs.

There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs) and we strongly advocate the preparation of both.

Property & Affairs

A Property and Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to appoint someone to make decisions regarding the management of your property and how your financial affairs are managed.

Health & Welfare

A Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to appoint either the same person or someone different to make decisions about your healthcare and general welfare. This includes decisions to refuse or consent to medical treatment on your behalf and deciding where you live.

Choosing people you trust that will have your best interests at heart and that you consider to make good decisions regarding their own finances etc is essential. An attorney would only take over your affairs and make decisions in relation to your property, finances, health and welfare if it were proven that you lacked the capacity to make these decisions for yourself, or if you have agreed for these decisions to be made for you in certain circumstances.

A Lasting Power of Attorney can be drawn up at any time whilst you have the mental capacity to do so, but has no legal standing until the document has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. 

A Lasting Power of Attorney can be useful even when you are of sound mind. For example, if you were to be in hospital for weeks, or were away on an extended holiday your attorney(s) can look after your financial affairs for you.

If you have a business and you became ill or had a serious accident then you might find that your absence makes it difficult for your business to operate.
Your attorney can handle the finances and make the decisions on your behalf in your business even if you are lying in a hospital bed without mental capacity.
Clients with share portfolios and time sensitive investments can benefit from having a power of attorney too; if you lost mental capacity and the stock market took a turn for the worse your attorneys can instruct your Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) to take appropriate action.

A Lasting Power of Attorney is an essential document that everyone should have.

The alternative is to leave it to faceless government bureaucrats (at great expense to you) to appoint somebody they choose when the time comes.

Do it now whilst you still can. Your family will be glad that you did

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