But what happens if your decisions need to be made on your behalf whilst you are still living? A Will won’t assist in such circumstances but having an LPA should.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document where you as the Donor appoint someone (usually close relatives or friends) to be your Attorney(s) to make certain decisions on your behalf including when you lack mental capacity.

So, by putting an LPA in place now, means you essentially retain a degree of control – Naturally, you would only appoint people you trust to carry out your wishes and who will always act in your best interests. You can also place restrictions or conditions on the face of the document itself.

There are two types of LPA:

1. A Property and Financial Affairs LPA which allows your Attorney(s) to make decisions about paying bills, dealing with the bank, collecting benefits, selling your house, etc; you can make an LPA to be used for financial decisions while you still have mental capacity.
2. A Health and Welfare LPA which allows your Attorney(s) to make decisions regarding treatment, care, medication, where you live, etc. You can create this LPA to be used only if you can no longer make your own decisions – known as losing ‘mental capacity’.

Currently, almost 1 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with dementia and this figure is rising. It’s anticipated that 1 in 3 individuals over 65 will suffer from some form of dementia and if capacity becomes an issue, it may not be possible to put an LPA in place at that stage. This means that your loved one is then left with the costly alternative of applying to the Court of Protection to become your Deputy (Deputyship). This is a slow process, taking 4-6 months once the paperwork has been completed, and while awaiting the outcome your affairs may be in a state of limbo. Preparing an LPA in a timely fashion could therefore also save your family a lot of stress, pressure and unnecessary expense.

As for accidents, every 90 seconds someone is admitted to hospital in the UK with a brain injury – traffic or contact-sport accidents are examples of what can go wrong. Once completed and registered, an LPA can be used if you suffer a physical infirmity for example in a serious accident, but you regain control of making your own decisions once you recover.

So, an LPA isn’t simply to be considered just by the elderly, although of course it allows you to plan in advance so that other people of your choosing may make decisions on your behalf at a point in time when you might lose the capacity to make those decisions yourself.

If you would like more information, or are looking to put an LPA in place, please contact our friendly team of experts who will be happy to talk to through the process.

The post So you have a Will, but wonder if you need a Lasting Power of Attorney? appeared first on Brindley Twist Tafft & James.

Types of LPA

There are two types of LPA in the UK:

• Health and Welfare LPA – This is used for decisions about your personal and medical welfare such as your daily care, what sort of medical treatments and health care you receive and where you live.  It also allows your Attorney to give consent or refuse consent to life sustaining treatment on your behalf if you so wish.  This Lasting Power of Attorney takes effect only when you are mentally unable to make decisions for yourself.

• Property and Financial Affairs LPA – This is used for decisions related to finances such as paying bills, managing your bank accounts, collecting pensions and buying or selling property.  You can choose whether it can be used immediately or only when you have lost the ability to make financial decisions.

Do You Need an LPA?

You should consider an LPA if:

• You want someone you trust to handle your affairs if you lose mental capacity.
• You have assets or savings that need managing.
• You want to avoid court intervention (without an LPA, loved ones may need to apply for a Deputyship, which is costly and time-consuming).
• You want to ensure your healthcare and financial decisions align with your wishes.

You’re never ‘too young’ to set up an LPA – the earlier in life you do it the better. The minimum age for setting up an LPA in the UK is 18.

What happens when you suddenly need help managing your affairs?

One of the main benefits of making a Lasting Power of Attorney is that, should you no longer want to deal with your own affairs, or be unable to, you have personally picked someone you trust to help you when you’ll need it – someone you know who will manage things in a way that is in your best interests.

Should you become incapacitated without an LPA in place, an application to the Court of Protection will need to be made to appoint a Deputy to act for you, someone to manage your affairs such as pay the bills and have the legal right to deal with your bank.  The person appointed by the Court of Protection may not be someone you would have chosen and the whole process can take a long time and is expensive.

How to Set Up an LPA

At BTTJ, our specialist lawyers can help you with all aspects of Lasting Powers of Attorney. Simply contact us to arrange an appointment and we can talk you through what is involved. We can help with any queries you have and advise the best approach for your circumstances.

You’ll find our team extremely good at listening, and we will be able to talk through your circumstances with you, and understand exactly what it is that you want.

We can prepare Lasting Powers of Attorney for you and get them registered at the Office of the Public Guardian, ensuring you fully understand all aspects of the documents and what will happen and when. We’ll also be able to ensure that the documents accurately reflect your wishes, and we can add specific conditions and change the scope of the documents to enable this.

An LPA can only be created while you have full mental capacity. Given that none of us knows if, how or when that capacity may be lost, we would always recommend putting something in place at the earliest opportunity..

Do I need a solicitor to set up an LPA?

While you don’t have to use a solicitor to create an LPA, it could prevent problems later on – especially if you’re unsure of the process or your affairs are complex. Using a solicitor is more costly than filling the forms yourself, but you should find that the reassurance of having professional advice is worth it. 

What is an Advanced Decision?

Alongside LPAs and Wills, is the lesser-known Advance Decision (AD), also known as a Living Will or Advance Directive. This is a document in which you can set out your wishes regarding medical treatment in the event where you suffer a serious illness and become incapacitated.

An AD is designed to allow you to say which medical treatments you wish to refuse and under which circumstances, and enables you to refuse life sustaining treatments such as being ventilated.

You will need to ensure that people know that you have made an AD because there is no central register.  You therefore need to file it with your GP and also, if appropriate, with your hospital.  You may also choose to let family or friends know of its existence (or may prefer not to).

Once an AD is finalised, health professionals are legally obliged to ensure your wishes are carried out. It is important to understand that an AD generally overrides the wishes of your next of Kin.

We can help you with all aspects of an Advance Decision document.  We can explain how this document works and also how it sits alongside other legal options such as a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney.

We have local offices in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common and Southam and cover the whole of Coventry, Warwickshire and beyond. If you are looking to set up an LPA and/or AD, then please get in touch with one of our highly experienced and friendly team who will be happy to assist.

The post What is a Lasting Power of Attorney, and do I need one? appeared first on Brindley Twist Tafft & James.

Helen Strong, Private Client Solicitor says “Quite often after I have completed a Will for a client, they comment that it was a much easier process than they had envisaged, and it was something on their “to do list” that they should have completed months or even years before.

Completing a Will is thought to be a daunting experience when having to consider what happens after you pass away, however, it is an important process and task on your to do list to complete, not only to ensure your wishes take place but also to ensure your loved ones are protected.”

Something else you may wish to consider is appointing a Lasting Power of Attorney, often just referred to as an LPA, is a legal document that lets you appoint someone, called an Attorney, to make decisions on your behalf and handle your affairs for you under circumstances when you are physically or mentally unable to do so yourself. For example, if you became ill and were physically or mentally unable to manage, you would need someone you trust to help you with your day to day affairs – like paying your bills.

Our friendly and down to earth Private Client Team here at Brindley Twist Tafft & James will make the process as straightforward and unnerving as possible.  We pride ourselves on developing and maintaining ongoing relationships with our clients.

We have dedicated Will & LPA experts based at each of our local offices – Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common & Southam, or we can even visit you at home if there is a need. We hope that this opens up the door to making a Will easier for you and helps start the process of ticking this task off your to-do list.

Contact us today to see how we can help you.

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