Lasting Powers of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows you to choose someone now that you trust to make decisions on your behalf at a time in the future when you no longer wish to make those decisions, or you may lack the mental capacity to make those decisions yourself. If you do not have an LPA in place and you lose mental capacity, it may be necessary for a Deputy to be appointed by the Court of Protection to manage your affairs which can be a lengthy and costly process.
There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney;
property and financial affairs
health and welfare
What is the difference between the two types of LPAs?
property and financial affairs - allows your attorney(s) to deal with your property and financial affairs whilst you still have capacity as well as when you lack capacity, for example, it may be easier for you to give someone the power to carry out tasks such as paying your bills or dealing with your pensions.
health and welfare - allows your attorney(s) to make decisions on your behalf regarding your personal healthcare and welfare. Healthcare and welfare decisions can only be taken by somebody else when you lack the capacity to make them for yourself, for example, if you are unconscious or because of the onset of a condition such as dementia. The Attorney(s) you appoint to make healthcare and welfare decisions will only be able to use this power provided that you cannot make the required decision for yourself.
You will need to consider the following for your LPAs:
Who will act as your attorney(s)? This must be someone you can trust e.g. a family member or friend
If you appoint more than one attorney, you will need to decided whether you would like them to act jointly (i.e. they can only make decisions together), jointly and severally (they can make decisions together and independently); and jointly for some decisions and jointly and severally for other decisions.
You may want to consider appointing a replacement attorney(s) in case one of your attorney(s) predecease you or are unable to act on your behalf.
Instructions - you can give your attorney(s) specific instructions which they must follow, such as submitting annual accounts to a person of your choice; or that you authorise and consent to your attorney(s) accessing your health records.
Preferences - you can provide your attorney(s) with your preferences on what you would like to happen in certain situations, such as you would prefer your attorneys to donate a specific amount of money to charity per year; or you would prefer that your attorney(s) refrain from making life sustaining treatment decisions in specific circumstances.
People to Notify - you can nominate certain individuals to inform them that you are registering your Lasting Powers of Attorney, e.g. your doctor or someone that deals with your safeguarding. The person that you notify may object to the registration of your LPA.
Certificate Provider - this is an impartial person such as a solicitor, GP or someone that has known you more than 2 years that is not a member of your family or the attorney(s) family to ensure that you understand the LPA and that you are not under any pressure to make it.
Once the LPA(s) are signed they will be sent to the Office of the Public Guardian for registration.
Who checks my attorney(s) are acting properly?
You should not appoint anyone that you do not trust to act as your attorney(s). The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) oversees attorney(s) and deals with any complaints that arise about the way that attorney(s) are exercising their powers.
If you have any questions or queries, please contact our Wills and Probate Department and we will be able to help you further. Please call 01937 832371 or you can email legal@bjhsolicitors.co.uk.