Lasting Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows someone you trust to make decisions about such things as your healthcare or finances at a time when you lack the mental capacity to make those decisions yourself. 

There are two very different forms of Lasting Power of Attorneys that can be made. One deals with your financial affairs and the other deals with your health and personal welfare issues. You can make one form of Lasting Power of Attorney without making the other, or you can choose to make both.You can appoint different attorneys for each type if you wish and you can appoint more than one attorney for whichever type of power of attorney you wish to make.

If you make a ‘Property and Financial Affairs’ power, your attorney can do anything in relation to your property and financial affairs that you could do yourself, e.g. buy and sell property, manage your investments, open and close bank accounts, claim benefits and pensions.

The ‘Health and Welfare’ form of Lasting Power of Attorney enables you to appoint an attorney to make decisions about social care issues and medical treatment including life sustaining treatment.

Both types of Lasting Power of Attorney require preparation and signing in accordance with strict rules set out by the Office of the Public Guardian, and registration with them before it can be used by your attorney. This organisation is a division of the Court of Protection.

A power of attorney is a powerful legal document and you will need to carefully consider who to appoint as your attorney(s) in it. Further, the document has to be carefully prepared and the correct steps taken in ensuring it is properly registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. We have dealt with many cases and have considerable experience in dealing with this work.

It is also important not to leave it too late to make a LPA as it can only be made while you still have ‘mental capacity’. Anyone over 60 should really be thinking of making a LPA since if you have not made one and you lose capacity your family would have to apply to the Court of Protection to be able to manage your affairs. This process takes significantly longer and is much more expensive than making a Lasting Power of Attorney. Hopefully you will not lose capacity and so the LPA need never be used but at least if one is made there will be little fuss involved for someone else to take over handling your affairs, if necessary.

We can provide you with an estimate of costs for the entire process of making either or both types of LPA before you make the decision to proceed. Please 'phone, or email or visit the office for an estimate.

Our office has wheelchair access and depending on location we can make home visits to clients who are unable to attend the office.