Lasting Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a document that can only be used whilst you are still alive, it gives someone you trust the ability to act on your behalf in matters relating to:

• Health & Welfare
• Property and Financial Affairs

They are used to appoint people who you trust, to make decisions for you in the event that you cannot make the decisions yourself.

The important consideration about creating a Lasting Power of Attorney is that they need to be in place before you lose capacity to make the decisions yourself. Not doing so will mean that your family, or any dependents will have to go through the Court of Protection. This can be a needlessly lengthy and expensive process.

You can have just one, either one, or you can have both, which is better. The more common one is the one that deals with Property and Affairs, as it is the one that allows someone you trust to pay your bills etc. if you are unable to do so due to mental incapacity or physical incapacity. However, more and more people are creating both as the Health and Welfare LPA is vital to enable your nominated Attorney to talk to health care professional, medical staff and Local Authority staff about your care and wellbeing.

I can support you in creating the documents and having them ready should anything happen.