Making a Lasting Power of Attorney
There has been a lot of publicity recently about Lasting Powers of Attorney including articles in The Daily Mail and discussions on BBC’s “The One Show”. The amount of publicity emphasises that these are important documents and well worth considering for yourself and your family.
Please view the video made by solicitors for the elderly and presented by Caroline Bielanska. It is very informative and lasts 9 minutes.
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
A LPA is a legal document whereby you can ensure that a chosen person or persons can take decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself.
How do they work?
There are two types of LPA; one deals with Property and Financial Affairs and the other with Health and Welfare decisions.
A Financial LPA allows the nominated person(s) to help pay your bills, run your bank accounts or even sell your home, for example. This could be needed if you are unwell or disabled or cannot do so yourself for any reason. It is often a physical disability when people need the LPA as they may not be able to sign their name or they may be housebound. However this LPA can be particularly useful in circumstances where the maker becomes mentally incapacitated and unable to take financial decisions for him or herself
A Health and Welfare LPA enables the nominated person(s) to make welfare decisions on your behalf, for example, where you should live or what medical treatment you should receive etc if you lack mental capacity following a serious illness or accident to make those decisions for yourself
LPAs must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before your attorneys can use it. It takes between 8-9 weeks once the LPA has been made for registration to be completed.
Why should I consider making one?
If a LPA is not in place, it may be necessary for family members to apply to the Court of Protection for authority to make decisions. This can be a distressing and lengthy process which can take over six months and is far more expensive than making an LPA. Without a Financial LPA, assets are usually frozen and can only be unlocked by a Court order. Court fees, medical fees, annual fees of the Office of the Public Guardian and compulsory insurance can amount to thousands of pounds.
Without a Welfare LPA no one in your family will have authority to make decisions for you, but it is possible for health and social care professionals to make decisions if they think that you lack mental capacity and the decision they want to make is in your best interests. They are protected from liability when making these decisions. This is fine if your family agree with them otherwise this can cause considerable distress, for example if the decision is about whether you can remain in your home or whether you should move into residential care. If a decision needs to be made quickly, you would either have to make an emergency application to the Court of Protection or wait the lengthy time periods before decisions can be made on your behalf.
Making an LPA
Preparation of a LPA should be seen as wise forward planning rather than leaving it until matters are pressing and you urgently need one. Having an LPA in place will remove a lot of stress and hassle from your family; think of it as a form of insurance.
Individuals can make their own LPAs but the documents are long, complex and difficult to complete, with approximately 60% failing to be completed properly and deemed invalid. Such problems cause additional time delays and can result in a second registration fee becoming due. We therefore recommend that you seek professional advice.
For more information contact Mark Stubberfield on 020 8290 0440 or email: mark.stubberfield@thackraywilliams.com