Lasting Powers of Attorney Advice

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document where you appoint a person or persons of your choice to look after your property, finances, health, and welfare. That person will make decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself. You may suffer some permanent or temporary mental impairment, LPAs are vital to ensure your bills are paid and any benefits you may be entitled to are applied for. It is essential to get the right Lasting Power of Attorney advice from an expert who can make sure your specific requirements are met.

Who can act as my Attorney?

One of the most important decisions to make is who to appoint as your Attorney. Your Attorney should be someone you trust to make decisions in your best interests, have the necessary skills to do so and with whom you have a good relationship. The person you choose has to agree to act as your Attorney and must understand the responsibilities involved.

You can make alternative appointments, for example appointing your spouse and your child, with the child to act if the spouse has died or can no longer act.

It is possible to appoint one of the lawyers at Vincents to act as your Attorney if you wish, but a charge would be made for this service. Generally, family and friends would not expect to be paid, but they can recover out-of-pocket expenses paid on your behalf. If you have professional attorney(s), they will need to be paid for their work and this will be specifically set out in the power.

You do not have to choose the same attorney(s) to act under a Property and Affairs Power and a Personal Welfare Power, as the responsibilities are very different. If you do choose different attorneys, you should consider how they may work together, for example in choosing and paying for residential care.

If you appoint more than one Attorney, they can consult on how to exercise the powers they are given, and there is a check on the misuse of those powers. If you do appoint more than one person, specify whether they are to act together (jointly) or together and separately (jointly and severally). If they are to act together, then they have to agree on every decision, and any documents have to be signed by both of them. If they are to act together and separately, then each of the Attorneys will be able to act independently, and most documents will only require one signature. This is usually simpler to operate in practice.

Specifying that your Attorneys must act together on certain decisions and together and separately on others may cause confusion, so we would not recommend this. Note that the appointment of joint Attorneys will terminate if one does not take up the appointment or dies, loses mental capacity, becomes bankrupt (for a Property and Financial affairs power only) or (in the case of a spouse or partner) on dissolution of a marriage or civil partnership. This would not apply if the Attorneys were given joint and several authority.

There are three types of Lasting Power of Attorney:

Property & Financial Affairs

You may appoint one or more attorneys to administer your property and your affairs. You may give to your Attorneys as much or as little power as you wish. We can advise you in this complex area of the law about the best way to complete your application to the Office of the Public Guardian.

One of our Court of Protection team will be your certificate provider if needed. We will advise you as to the breadth of powers you may give to your attorney(s). We can help you place restrictions or conditions upon what your Attorneys can and cannot do for you. You may appoint your Attorneys to act jointly, or jointly and severally. We can give guidance to you and your Attorneys in this most complex area of the law.

Health & Welfare

A Health & Welfare LPA is a separate document to the Property & Financial Affairs LPA. In a Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney, you may appoint as many people as you wish to be your Attorney. You may give to your Attorneys power to make decisions concerning your future care and medical treatment. For example, your Attorneys may select a care home for you or arrange a care package for you in your own home. If you wish, you may give to your Attorneys power to provide life-sustaining treatment on your behalf or discontinue care.

As with the Property & Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney, you may also place restrictions and conditions upon what your Attorneys can do and give guidance to them.

Business Lasting Power of Attorney

You can read more about Business Lasting Powers of Attorney here. It is particularly important to have one in place if you are a business owner and want to maintain business continuity should you be temporarily incapacitated.

We can help you get the most out of your application to the Office of the Public Guardian and advise you in the most straightforward way, drawing on our wealth of experience in this area of the law.

Why make a Lasting Power of Attorney now? What is the urgency?

None of us know what is going to happen. We may suffer a stroke or be injured in an accident, impairing our judgment or ability to make our own decisions. We may also begin to suffer from Alzheimer’s or Dementia. We may simply wish to take a long holiday and need someone back at home to look after our property and bills.

If any of the above events happen without a Lasting Power of Attorney, nobody has authority to make decisions on our behalf, except in limited circumstances. By appointing Attorneys, you are putting in place provisions for decisions to be made on your behalf and for your affairs to be administered in the way that you wish.

In the long term, if you do not have a LPA in place and you lose capacity, a Deputy application may need to be made to the Court of Protection so that your affairs can be managed. This process can be complex, costly and lengthy.

This may result in someone you do not trust or a professional person unknown to you being appointed as Deputy. Additional costs will also be incurred if a Deputy is appointed by the Court of Protection.

How do I draw up a Lasting Power of Attorney?

At Vincents, we have an expert and dedicated team who can prepare the documentation for you, obtain your approval, and your signature. There are several stages to preparing a Lasting Power of Attorney and specific requirements for each stage. Clear advice feels better, which is why we will assist you through each stage and break down the requirements from start to finish. We provide certified copies of the original papers and store the originals free of charge. Usually, they will sit with your Will.

At Vincents, we strive to provide the most efficient fixed-cost service available.

If you wish to contact a member of our team to discuss preparing a LPA for property and finance or health and welfare, please telephone our dedicated Court of Protection team on 01772 555 176 or complete email us enquiries@vslaw.co.uk