A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that enables you to appoint one or more trusted people (known as attorneys) to manage your affairs and make decisions on your behalf in the event that you lose mental capacity. There are two types of LPA:
This type of LPA allows you to appoint one or more attorney(s) to make decisions about your property and financial affairs including operating bank and building society accounts, the buying and selling of your house and other assets, dealing with your tax affairs, claiming and receiving benefits and pension payments, and paying household, care and other bills.
This type of LPA allows you to appoint one or more attorney(s) to make decisions relating to matters such as where you should live and what care you should receive, consenting to or refusing medical treatment on your behalf, and day-to-day matters such as your diet, clothes and daily routine. It is also possible to grant power to your attorney(s) to make decisions about accepting or refusing life-sustaining medical treatment.
If you were to lose capacity to manage your affairs without having put in place an LPA, your loved ones would need to make an application to the Court of Protection for an individual known as a ‘Deputy’ to be appointed to manage your affairs.
A Deputy can be appointed to make financial decisions on health and care decisions, in a similar way to an LPA attorney. However, there are several key differences, which mean that we would advise, if possible, for clients to have LPAs prepared instead of falling back on the Deputyship system.
Our team is experienced in the use of Powers of Attorney and we are able to offer expert advice to the donor of a Power as to the practicality of their wishes and intentions, as well as to Attorneys themselves. It is important for Attorneys to understand their role and function. We will advise in respect of common issues that arise, including gifting or disputes between Attorneys, and how to avoid them.
We are also able to identify any mental capacity issues that may affect the validity of your Lasting Powers of Attorney and can arrange for additional due diligence to be undertaken, for example a mental capacity assessment by a medical professional.
Our legal teams have a genuine passion for what they do. Their specialist knowledge is an absolute given and they take pride in working with clients to help them achieve the results they seek in their professional and personal lives.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.
