Lasting Power of Attorney

Making a Will is important to organise your affairs after death. It is also essential that you consider what may happen in the event that you lose mental capacity.

If you lose the capacity to look after yourself or organise your money, perhaps through illness, dementia or accident, it is important that someone makes personal and financial decisions on your behalf.

Approximately 850,000 people in the UK live with dementia, and may become mentally incapable of handling their own affairs.

In recent years, banks, pension providers and other financial institutions have tightened their rules relating to what information and access third parties can have if you lose capacity to handle your own affairs. It is important that you make arrangements to appoint a specific person or people to handle your affairs in the event that you become unable to do so yourself.

Failure to make arrangements could lead to lengthy and costly procedures in future, such as application to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy to make decisions for you, or the Court may make specific decisions on your behalf.

The solution is to create a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

An LPA is a legal document that allows you to authorise a person or people of your choice, the Attorney(s), to make decisions on your behalf relating to either:

• Your property and financial affairs - including paying bills, collecting your income or benefits or selling property. You can choose to appoint your Attorney(s) to manage your finances and property whilst you still have mental capacity, or only in the event that you lose your capacity.
• Your personal welfare - including the type of residential, nursing or other care you receive, and the power to consent to or refuse medical treatment on your behalf. Your Attorney(s) can only make decisions for this type of LPA if you lack the mental capacity to make them yourself.

You can choose to make one or both types of LPA. To protect you and your Attorney(s), an LPA must be registered at the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be legally used.

Contact the Will Advice Company to arrange your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).