Five things you should know about a Lasting Power of Attorney

If you are searching for Lasting Power of Attorney solicitors in Somerset, then our specialist team is here to help. In this article we highlight five things you should know about a Lasting Power of Attorney.

A Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA, is a legal document that allows you (the donor) to appoint one or more individuals (attorneys) to make decision on your behalf if you were to lose mental capacity.

A LPA can only be used while you the donor are alive.

There are two types of LPA:

• a Property and Financial Affairs LPA which allows your Attorney to deal with your bills, buying and selling your property(s) and managing your bank accounts
• a Health and Welfare LPA which allows your Attorney to make decisions about your health, care and living arrangements.

Below are five things you should know about a Lasting Power of Attorney:

1. Save Money – If you don’t have an LPA in place and you lose capacity, your family will need to be given permission by the court to handle your affairs on your behalf and this can be very expensive and time consuming. Furthermore, the cost of making an LPA is probably not as much as you think.
2. Protect your personal wishes – You can, for instance, inform your Attorney(s) that you do not wish to be admitted to hospital unless absolutely necessary. If you have a Health and Welfare LPA , your attorneys can ensure your personal welfare is prioritised. Your Attorney(s) can also safeguard decisions made surrounding end-of-life planning.
3. Prior to Losing Mental Capacity – An LPA can only be completed and registered by an individual who has mental capacity. You cannot make an LPA once you have already become incapacitated, and a friend or family member will then need to apply to the court.
4. Urgency – We all make the mistake of saying, ‘I will do it tomorrow’, but tomorrow never comes. The time it takes to put an LPA in place will be much quicker than the time required to get permission from the courts once capacity has been lost.
5. Changing your LPA – Don’t panic. An LPA can be amended or revoked at any point during your life as long as you have capacity. If there has been a change in circumstances or you have simply changed your mind in relation to your appointed attorneys then this can be easily rectified . Removing an attorney or adding an attorney to an existing LPA is nothing to fear and can be done with ease.

Our experienced Lasting Power of Attorney solicitors are able to assist you with preparing and registering LPAs. Partner Steph Rodgers recently assisted a client who had relocated and changed solicitors. The previous solicitors were appointed as attorneys in the LPA but the client wished to change this. Steph assisted the client with revoking the existing LPAs and making new ones which appointed Slee Blackwell as the attorneys. It gave the client peace of mind knowing that her local solicitors were able to help as she had no living family left.

So if you are looking for Lasting Power of Attorney solicitors in Somerset then our team is here to help.