Lasting Powers of Attorney

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”) is a legal document that allows you to choose someone to make decisions about your financial affairs and property or to make decisions about your health and welfare. There are two types of LPA: a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and a Health and Welfare LPA. This is a note about LPAs in general.

No-one automatically has the right to deal with your property and financial affairs or to make decisions about your health and welfare (for example because they are your spouse or child). Making an LPA is one way you can decide who should deal with these matters if at any time you become unable to manage them yourself.

The person you choose in this way is known as your “Attorney”. You can appoint more than one person to act. Your Attorney (or Attorneys) can use an LPA to manage your property and financial affairs straight away if that is what you want. Alternatively, you can state that the LPA must only be used if you become unable to manage your affairs because of the onset of mental incapacity. Health and Welfare LPAs are different: they can only be used if you have lost mental capacity.

LPAs are different from ordinary Powers of Attorney. Ordinary Powers are not valid once you become mentally unable to manage your affairs. Nor can they be used for health and welfare matters. LPAs can however be used in these situations.

An LPA is not just a document for the elderly: younger people sometimes lose the ability to manage their affairs through illness or accident.

A Powerful Document

By signing a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, you are giving your Attorney full power over your home, your money and any other property. If you want your Attorney to handle these things for you if you become mentally incapable, you are not likely to be in a position to check what they are doing. You should therefore choose your Attorney carefully. You may like to consider how skilled they are at handling money and investment matters, and whether you think they are trustworthy enough to look after your own affairs if you are not able to do so. This may include deciding how your money should be used to look after you and provide for your needs.

If you set up a Health and Welfare LPA, your Attorney will only be able to act for you if you become mentally incapacitated. In such circumstances your Attorney will be able to make decisions about all aspects of your social welfare, including where you live or with whom you have contact, your healthcare and medical treatment. It is therefore important that you choose someone you know well and someone you trust to make these decisions on your behalf.
You can appoint the same Attorney or Attorneys to act under both types of LPA or you can choose different Attorneys.

Commencement of the LPA

A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used even though you still have the capacity to manage your own affairs. Alternatively you may wish to restrict it so that it can only be used if you lose that capacity. A Health and Welfare LPA can only be used if you have become mentally incapable of making decisions about your own health and welfare.

What are the Duties of my Attorney?

Your attorney has a number of duties which are set down in law. These include the following:

To act in your best interests
To make only those decisions the LPA gives the Attorney authority to make
Not to take advantage of their position or to benefit themselves unlawfulls
To respect your confidentiality.

Your Attorney must consult you about decisions when appropriaye to do so, and should help you make decisions for yourself and support you. Where there are a number of choices they must discuss all the options with you and help you to make the decision. If you are unable to make the decision, your Attorney can make it on your behalf.