Lasting Power of Attorney Appoint someone you trust to be your voice
Making an LPA is as important as making a will
Every year, many people lose the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves, whether through an accident, illness or dementia. It's a risk for all of us. And if we ignore that risk now, we can create problems for ourselves and our loved ones in the future.
No one, not even your spouse or partner, has the automatic right to deal with your assets if you lose capacity. That's why it's important to put a plan in place now, while you can. To grant someone you trust the legal right to make key decisions for you.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) lets you do exactly that. We're here to help guide you through the process of applying for an LPA. So you can have complete peace of mind about your future.
"We needed Power of Attorney and amendments to my parents' wills. Such an emotive and sensitive subject was dealt with kindly and with professionalism."
Jude Marriott, March 2024
Why it's a good idea to make a Lasting Power of Attorney
There are several myths about LPAs. In this short video, we dispel those myths and explain why it makes sense for you and your family to put both types of LPA in place.
What exactly is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
An LPA is a legal document that grants someone you trust the right to manage your affairs and make key decisions on your behalf.
How it works is you appoint someone in advance to make decisions for you. This person is called your attorney. If the time comes when you're no longer able to manage your own affairs, an LPA makes sure the person (or people) you have appointed can start making decisions for you straight away.
It saves a great deal of money, time and stress. And it makes sure that, if you become a vulnerable person, there will be somebody there to handle your affairs correctly.
There are two types of LPA:
- Property and Financial Affairs
- Health and Welfare
You can choose to make one or both types of LPA.
An important point worth noting
In a moment, we'll look at what each type of LPA can be used for. Before that, however, there's something you should be aware of. For both types of LPA, you need to have mental capacity when you make them. In short, once you've lost capacity, it's too late to create an LPA.
Property and Financial Affairs
What sort of things can this type of LPA cover?
- Paying your mortgage or remortgaging your home
- Arranging repairs or renovations
- Buying, selling and leasing property
- Paying your household expenses and utility bills
- Managing your tax affairs
- Investing money
- Claiming or receiving benefits, allowances or pension credits
- Opening, closing and managing your bank or building society accounts
- Paying for private medical care and residential care costs
Your attorney can use this type of LPA as soon as it's registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. You can choose, however, to restrict the LPA so that your attorney can only use it once you lose mental capacity.
An extra layer of protection
Your attorney needs to keep accounts. They must make sure they keep your money separate from their own.
You can also ask for regular details of how your money has been spent and how much you have. This gives you an extra layer of protection. If you lose capacity, these details can be sent to your solicitor or a family member.
Health and Welfare
What decisions can your attorney make?
- Where you should live
- Day-to-day decisions, such as what you eat or what clothes you wear
- Who you should have contact with
- What kind of social activities you would want to take part in
- Where and when you should go on holiday
- How you are cared for on a daily basis
- Your medical care and treatments, including end-of-life care
You can also give your attorney special permission, if you wish, to make decisions about life-saving treatment.
Unlike a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, this type of LPA can only be used if you lose the mental capacity to make your own decisions.
What happens if you don't have a Lasting Power of Attorney?
If you lose capacity, your loved ones will be stuck. They won't be able to access your bank accounts, manage your property, or have a say in decisions about your health or social care.
They would need to apply to the Court of Protection for an order appointing them as a deputy.
This is a complicated process. It takes time and will cost a lot more money compared with making a Lasting Power of Attorney - not just to set up, but also in annual fees.
Nearly 10 times as much.
Applying for an LPA, there would only be costs for you. But if a loved one has to apply to become your deputy, there would be costs for both of you.
How much longer would it take?
If you have an LPA in place when you lose capacity, your attorney (or attorneys) can immediately step in to look after your finances and make key decisions about your care. Without an LPA, it could take as long as 9 months before they can act on your behalf.
It's also far more onerous to be a deputy than an attorney. They have more ongoing obligations. These include sending an annual deputy report to the Office of the Public Guardian.
But there's another risk.
When the Court appoints your deputy, there's no guarantee it would be the person you would have chosen to make decisions for you. That's why it makes sense to take matters into your own hands now.
Case study
We recently helped a cohabiting couple write their wills and put Lasting Powers of Attorney in place. Kieran and Sarah (not their real names) have two adult children, aged 25 and 21, and they own their own property. However, because they're not married, they're not able to benefit from spousal exemption for inheritance tax.
When they came to us, Kieran and Sarah were yet to write their wills. To minimise their tax liabilities, we recommended they put in place a nil-rate band discretionary trust. This would enable them to ring-fence their inheritance tax allowance on each person's death.
We also advised them to grant Lasting Powers of Attorney to each other. By doing so, they have been able to ensure that, should the other person lose capacity, they can act on each other's behalf with any financial or medical institution in the UK.
It also means they will avoid the costly, uncertain, and time-consuming process of applying for a deputyship order from the Court of Protection.
Make sure someone you trust can look after you
Contact us today to book your free hour of advice and find out how we can help you.
We'll listen to your wishes, explore your circumstances, and give you our recommendations. There are no obligations. We'll let you know our fixed fees for carrying out the work we recommend. But you are free to accept or decline.
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