Lasting Powers of Attorney
Lasting Power of Attorney Solicitors
Taking the decision to make a Lasting Power of Attorney can be daunting. Still, failure to create one could leave your family and loved ones unable to make decisions for you or handle your affairs in line with your wishes and intentions. Therefore, creating a Lasting Power of Attorney at any age will be highly beneficial.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows a person to plan for the future. Contrary to popular belief, an LPA can be created by any person over the age of 18 and are not just designed for elderly people or those with terminal illness. A Lasting Power of Attorney helps to ensure that every eventuality is covered.
Lasting Powers of Attorney Solicitor Near Me
When a person creates an LPA, they (the donor) will allocate decision-making responsibilities to a trusted person (the attorney). There are two main types of Lasting Power of Attorney;
-
Property and Financial Affairs LPA
This kind of LPA enables you to select an individual to make decisions for you concerning your assets and financial matters. This might include money, bills, tax, bank accounts, property, investments, or pensions.
-
Health and Welfare LPA
This form of LPA enables you to designate someone to make decisions concerning your healthcare which could involve life-sustaining treatments. The attorney would be responsible for decisions regarding your well-being, such as your living arrangements, daily routine or medical care.
A Health and Welfare LPA only allows your attorney to make decisions when you cannot do so due to a lack of mental capacity, as outlined in the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This might apply if you are unconscious or have dementia. A Health and Welfare LPA will be a legally acceptable document to doctors and medical staff if necessary.
If you are looking for advice surrounding a Lasting Power of Attorney, please contact our experienced private client solicitors and chartered legal executives today on 01945 583194 (Wisbech) or 01354 652606 (March), or email reception@bowsers.co.uk. Alternatively, you can fill in our contact form.
Contact Us
March and Wisbech Solicitors
Bowsers Solicitors are local solicitors for the local community. Our private client team specialises in assisting clients with the drafting, implementing and registering Lasting Powers of Attorney.
Our team takes the time to get to know you and understand your circumstances before drafting a bespoke and personable LPA. We can also assist in registering your LPA at the Office of the Public Guardian.
Creating your LPA is essential to ensure that the decision-making is left to your attorney should you lose the mental capacity to do so.
To speak to one of our friendly yet professional private client solicitors or chartered legal executives today, please call 01945 583194 (Wisbech) or 01354 652606 (March), or email reception@bowsers.co.uk. Alternatively, you can fill in our contact form.
Solicitors for Lasting Powers of Attorney Cambridgeshire
Some people may have created a Living Will (Advance Decision) as well as a Lasting Power of Attorney. The document that was created most recently will be prioritised.
If you make an LPA after making an Advance Decision: The attorney specified in your LPA can override the provisions of the Advance Decision if you granted them the power to make the decisions when you created the LPA.
If you make an Advance Decision after creating an LPA: By first registering the Health and Welfare LPA and then applying the Advance Decision, you obtain advantages like allowing your attorney to support your treatment refusal wishes and ensuring they act for your best interest. In cases where a decision involves a topic not covered in your Advance Decision, your attorney will maintain the ability to act for you.
To find out more about Living Wills, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a vital legal document that enables you (donor) to appoint someone (attorney) to act on your behalf. It grants authority for decision-making when you are unable to do so yourself.
An LPA is invaluable for planning ahead and ensuring your wishes are respected by a trusted representative. This includes crucial matters such as:
- Financial affairs
- Property management
- Future healthcare choices
- Personal welfare considerations
To create an LPA, an individual must be 18 or older and possess the mental capacity to make this decision. The individual the LPA is set up for is referred to as the donor.
The individual selected to make decisions on behalf of the donor is called the attorney. The attorney must also be over 18 years old and must possess the mental capacity to serve as an attorney.
Understanding the two distinct categories of LPA is essential:
- A health and welfare LPA
- A property and financial affairs LPA
A Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) enables you to designate individuals to make personal decisions on your behalf, including decisions regarding medical treatment, care, and residence.
A Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) typically pertains to managing the Donor's assets, including their house, bank accounts, and shares. It provides continuity in decision-making even if the individual loses mental capacity later on. Moreover, individuals who own a business or has an interest in a business can utilise an LPA to designate a capable individual to handle business decisions during their absence or incapacity.
- Contact us– Arrange a face-to-face appointment with one of our experts. You will be provided with detailed advice and your instructions will be taken.
- Preparing your documentation – We will draft the lasting power of attorney documentation in accordance with your instructions.
- Signing the documentation– After we have prepared your documentation, you will be invited for a second face-to-face appointment to ensure all the information is correct before you sign the forms.
- Registering your LPA – When the documentation has been signed by you, your certificate provider and your attorneys, we will arrange for it to be registered by the Office of the Public Guardian.
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), responsible for processing LPA forms, has communicated that waiting times for LPA applications may extend up to 20 weeks for processing.
Contrary to common belief, next of kin do not inherently gain decision-making authority in such situations. If you're unable to decide for yourself, your doctor assumes this responsibility based on what's deemed best for you.
Unlike a Property and Financial LPA, a Health and Welfare LPA comes into effect only when you lack the mental capacity to make these decisions independently.
By creating a Health and Welfare LPA, you appoint a trusted individual(s) who understand your preferences to act on your behalf. Your appointed attorney is obligated to act in your best interests when making such decisions.
You can appoint anyone you want as your attorney, provided they are over 18 and aren’t bankrupt.
An attorney should be someone you trust and is comfortable undertaking the role.
Most people choose a family member as their attorney, although you can appoint a professional, such as an accountant or a solicitor.
You can have one or more attorneys in your LPA. If you appoint more than one attorney, you need to decide how they can make decisions. This can be either:
- Jointly and severally. This means your attorneys can make decisions on their own or with other attorneys. If one of the attorneys is unable to act, decisions can still be made without them.
- This means all attorneys must agree on the decision.
You can also specify that attorneys can make some decisions jointly, and others jointly and severally.
Although it is possible to set up an LPA yourself, the process is complicated, and it is easy to make mistakes.
An error on the forms may mean your LPA is rejected by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) when you try to register it, or it is not valid when you need to use it.
Using a solicitor means you benefit from their legal expertise, helping you avoid mistakes and giving you valuable peace of mind.
If you need help with an LPA, or are looking for advice surrounding a Lasting Power of Attorney, please contact our experienced private client solicitors and chartered legal executives today on 01945 583194 (Wisbech) or 01354 652606 (March), or email reception@bowsers.co.uk.Alternatively, you can fill in our contact form.
Yes, you can still make an LPA if you have dementia, as long as you have the mental capacity to do so.
Any question marks over whether you have the legal capacity required to make an LPA could lead to complications and challenges further down the line, so specialist advice is vital.
Mental capacity is the ability to make decisions for yourself.
To have mental capacity a person must be able to:
- Understand the information that is relevant to the decision they want to make.
- Retain the information long enough to be able to make the decision.
- Weigh up the information available to make the decision.
- Communicate their decision by any possible means, such as talking or using sign language.
If you cannot make decisions, you are said to ‘lack capacity’.
If you don’t have an LPA in place and lose capacity, your loved ones are not able to automatically make decisions on your behalf or access your bank accounts, even if it is to pay for your care.
Instead, they will have to apply to the Court of Protection to act as a deputy. This process can be arduous, costly and time-consuming.