Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA's)

Think of these as you view an insurance policy, you hope that they are never needed, but if they are, then they will be of significant help to you and your family.

It is not uncommon to hear from a client ‘we are in good health, and we don’t think we need these yet’.  Thankfully, none of us usually know when general ill health or mental decline will occur; therefore, it is when you are in good health that you should be thinking about putting LPAs in place.

We feel that the rapid changes in our society make it even more important to have LPAs. Think back to the days when you could visit the bank and speak in person to someone about a problem with your account. Or a utility provider would actually answer the call in a reasonable timescale and want to help with your enquiry.  Now imagine contacting the bank without a valid LPA, to tell them there had been fraudulent activity on your spouse/partner’s account.  I think you can imagine the response you would get….’let me take you through security…’. Or perhaps your spouse has a gym/golf/sky subscription that now needs to be cancelled because they are in care or poorly; try doing that without a valid LPA.  These are everyday examples of what families face.

The solution is to appoint people you trust to act as your Attorneys in case you become unable to make decisions for yourself or simply need a little help from the family.  Your Attorneys must always act in your best interests, and there are rules in place to ensure they do not take advantage of their position. 

There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney: a Health and Welfare LPA, which deals with everyday decisions about how you will live, and a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, which deals with decisions relating to your finances and your property.  

If you become unable to make decisions for yourself and do not have an Attorney, the Court will appoint a Deputy to carry out these functions.  That person will be chosen by the Court, and he/she will have to account to the Court for his/her actions.   While the Court acts in what it perceives to be your best interests, the process will be costly and time-consuming, and could result in someone you do not know or whom you would not wish to act for you being appointed.

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