The Lasting Power of Attorney: It’s about you and what you want

Following on from the launch of the Ministry of Justice’s “Choice not Chance” campaign, why would you want to have Lasting Powers of Attorney or LPAs?

The Ministry of Justice points out on their website that:

“A lasting power of attorney (LPA) lets you appoint one or more people to help you make decisions or make decisions on your behalf.

It gives you more control over what happens to you if, for example, you have an accident or an illness and can’t make decisions at the time they need to be made (you ‘lack mental capacity’).

If your parents have a LPA, it will make managing their affairs easier if they lose capacity.”

This encapsulates the essence of the LPA and the reason for having one well but it is worth focusing on certain aspects.

Firstly, when to make an LPA. The simple answer is NOW. You are, we would of course hope, fit and well with the ability to make decisions entirely on your own behalf. But unfortunately life is not that certain. Capacity, or the ability to make decisions for yourself, can be lost at any time. The issue is that once you have lost capacity there is no option to make an LPA. It will be at this point that Social Services or doctors for example can, with only passing reference to your loved ones, spouse or friends, make decisions about several aspects, if not all, of your life. For example, they can take control of your finances, health decision, decisions around where you live or what care you should receive.

It is therefore important that you have one or both LPAs in place to cater for events in the future.

There are 2 LPAs, one covering your financial affairs and one covering health and welfare decisions. Which to have or even whether to have both is normally an easy decision but completing the forms, expressing your wishes, considering who should be appointed, what powers they have or whether they need to act together in union or separately is an area solicitors can provide invaluable assistance in.

If you have any queries about making a lasting power of attorney, an existing power or you are an attorney with a query about exercising your powers then please contact our Private Client team who will be able to help.

Visit The Ministry of Justice for their view on why you should have LPAs.