Lasting Power of Attorney
Appointing someone you trust with your Lasting Power of Attorney has nothing to do with your age.
An accident or illness could cause you to lose or suffer reduced capacity at anytime. According to research carried out by the Alzheimer's Society. In 2018 there were approximately 225,000 people in the UK (that's roughly the same as the population of Havering in Essex) who lost capacity due to the effects of Dementia. Yet in the same year almost 450,000 people in the UK (roughly the same population as the city of Bristol) lost capacity due to illness or injury, and around 60% of those (260,000) were under the age of 50!
GET IN TOUCH
Any Bank account in your name (personal or business) including joint accounts are likely to be closed down without a registered Power of Attorney for Property and Finance in place.
How would your Spouse or business partner cope without access to an account they always assumed they would be able to use?
What if you had specific requests around being resuscitated, or had religious views which you would want a medical professional to consider?
What if you had specific requests around being resuscitated, or had religious views which you would want a medical professional to consider?
Without a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare in place your loved ones could not express those wishes on your behalf.
In our opinion appointing someone you trust with your Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA as it is more commonly known is as important as making your Will, yet currently only around 2% of UK adults have planned for the possibility of losing capacity, and appointed someone they trust with their LPA!
A little further down this page you can watch a very powerful video made by the BBC in 2014 on Heather Bateman's struggle following an accident to her Husband, and how she wasn't able to control the family finances simply because he hadn't appointed her with his Lasting Power of Attorney, even though they had been married for many years and had held valid Wills for a number of years. Since making this video, the Office of the Public Guardian have reduced the cost of registering a Lasting Power of Attorney from £120 to £82.
Sadly, this video only highlights the fact that we shouldn't assume that our Spouse, a business partner or anyone else would automatically have the power to act on our behalf if we are not able to, and why we should all appoint someone we trust with our Lasting Power of Attorney before it's too late.
A little further down this page you can watch a very powerful video made by the BBC in 2014 on Heather Bateman's struggle following an accident to her Husband, and how she wasn't able to control the family finances simply because he hadn't appointed her with his Lasting Power of Attorney, even though they had been married for many years and had held valid Wills for a number of years. Since making this video, the Office of the Public Guardian have reduced the cost of registering a Lasting Power of Attorney from £120 to £82.
Sadly, this video only highlights the fact that we shouldn't assume that our Spouse, a business partner or anyone else would automatically have the power to act on our behalf if we are not able to, and why we should all appoint someone we trust with our Lasting Power of Attorney before it's too late.
Sadly for 98% of UK adults, by the time they need an Lasting Power of Attorney it's already too late. You can only put one in place BEFORE you need it.
FAMILY FIRST CONSULTANTS can guide you through the whole process, and our FULLY INCLUSIVE service with a very competitive FIXED PRICE means that we do everything for you by ensuring your LPA is correctly drafted, certified and registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, we will also act as your Certificate Provider at no additional cost so you and your loved ones have Peace of Mind, safe in the knowledge that IF you lose capacity and cannot manage your affairs then someone you know and trust will be able to act in YOUR best interest.
GET IN TOUCHA few facts about Lasting Powers of Attorney
An LPA is the legal document which enables a persons trusted representative - known as their Attorney to oversee their finances or welfare. Dealing with money or welfare matters in old age or in poor health can be difficult and worrying - possibly even impossible without a registered LPA.
Sadly, no they can't. Since around 2005 when the Law changed, once you have lost capacity (unable to make an informed decision) it isn't possible for you to appoint anyone with your LPA. The best anyone, including a Spouse can do is apply directly to the Court of Protection to be your Deputy, but this would be for your finances only. It is also possible that the Court of Protection may appoint someone as your Deputy. Please be aware that having someone acting as your Deputy does not carry the same degree of authority as having a correctly registered LPA, plus it can be very expensive when compared to the cost of an LPA, and as a hearing is required with the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy only a specialist Solicitor can carry out the instruction, there is also a fee payable to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy, currently around £4,000 plus an additional annual cost of around £1,200 to retain the Deputy! That's why appointing someone you trust to be your Attorney while you are able is ALWAYS our recommended option.
Yes, if you want to be covered for any eventuality you would require two different LPA's as follows:
Property and Affairs LPA. This allows your Attorney to make decisions on your behalf about your financial affairs, including paying your bills, collecting your income and benefits or selling your house (subject to any restrictions) It would also allow someone you trust, or a business partner to allow your business account remain open.
It does not allow your Attorney to make any decisions about your personal welfare.
Personal Welfare LPA. This allows your Attorney to make decisions on your behalf about your welfare, including whether to give or refuse consent to medical treatment on your behalf and deciding where you live.
Your Attorney will not have the power to make decisions on your finances.
An LPA only allows your Attorney to act on your behalf when you can't due to lack of capacity, meaning you cannot make the decision yourself, for example if you are ill, unconscious or because of the onset of a condition such as Dementia.
It is likely that without a registered LPA for Property and Finance your Bank account (including any joint accounts with a Spouse or partner) would be closed by your Bank, until a Deputy is appointed by the Court of Protection this could take between nine to eighteen months, but more importantly, until then a Deputy has been appointed nobody including your Spouse or Business Partner will be allowed access to any account with your name on it.
Most of us will be fortunate and live a long life, but it might not be possible for us to always manage our own affairs. If you were to suffer a significant physical or mental incapacity, having an LPA could make your life much easier and a lot less stressful for you and your loved ones, as well as protecting your interests.
The LPA application process includes an official form which must be completed and signed by the Donor and Attorneys in the presence of a witness. It also needs to be certified and must then be registered with the Court of Protection via the Office of the Public Guardian before your Attorney can act for you.
Your Family First Consultants adviser can guide you through the whole process simply in a way that's easy to understand, we can also act as your Certificate Provider at no additional cost.
Here are some frequently asked questions:
You can give your Attorney authority to manage all of your finances, including paying your bills, signing cheques, dealing with your Bank, or make decisions on your medical treatment. However, you are free to restrict the Attorney's powers if you wish. As an example, you may want to insist that your Attorney obtains medical evidence before the powers can be exercised.
Provided you still have full mental capacity you can revoke the LPA, although once the LPA has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian you will need medical evidence of capacity and the Court's permission to revoke the LPA.
When you die, the LPA is no longer valid the powers given to your Attorney end and your Will takes over.
Your Family First Consultants adviser would be happy to offer guidance to them with no fee or obligation;
(Advice is also available directly from the Office of the Public Guardian.)
Family First Consultants are based in Collier Row near Romford and we are very happy to visit you in your home at a time to suit you at no cost to advise you on every aspect of appointing your Lasting Power of Attorney, so if you would like to find out more why not get in touch with us today?
Most of us take it for granted that if our Spouse, Partner or a Parent are the ones requiring help as a result of an accident or illness that the law would allow us to act for them automatically.
however
Without a previously registered Lasting Power of Attorney your affairs including your finances will be managed by the Court of Protection via a Deputy, NOT your Spouse, Partner or Adult Children!