A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) can be crucial as it enables - in the event of incapacity - people to nominate someone they trust to make decisions for them, about their property and financial affairs, as well as medical matters.
However, an LPA has to be put in place prior to the person becoming incapacitated or risk the family having to fight for their relative’s rights and assets. However the donor may include a restriction that the LPA can only be used at a time in the future when they lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves.
In some cases it may be easier to give someone the power of a LPA now, to carry out tasks such as paying their bills or collecting their benefits or other income.
Advanced Directives
As a competent adult, you have a legal right to give or withhold consent to medical treatment. However, if you become mentally incapacitated or unconscious, treatment may be given or withheld without your consent provided medical staff are convinced it would be in your best interests. Through an ‘advance directive’ (also known as a ‘Living Will’), you retain your legal right to decline specific treatment, including life-prolonging treatment.
An advance statement is when you specify what treatment or care you would like to be given if you no longer have the capacity to make your own decisions. This is not legally binding for health professionals but will help them to understand your preferences. An AD can often be a good alternative to an LPA to avoid asking someone else having to make a medical decision on your behalf; whilst an LPA costs more.
According to the Alzheimer’s Society, by 2025 more than 1 million people in the UK will have dementia. Therefore, it is prudent to plan ahead. Furthermore, it is not just a consideration for the elderly; younger people may also become incapacitated through accident or illness.
LPAs are designed to be recognised by financial institutions, care homes and local authorities, tax, benefits and pension authorities thereby making the handling of financial and welfare affairs much easier for relatives when it is needed.
It must be remembered that an LPA is a serious, powerful legal document and it can be complicated to draft it correctly. It is possible for you to draft your own LPA without a solicitor but apart from complexity OPG may object to certain restrictions contained in the LPA and may even render the LPA invalid due to technical mistakes made filling in the forms.
If you want more information, please contact us.
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