What Is Lasting A Power Of Attorney?

A Lasting Power Of Attorney is a legal document in addition to your Will where you give another individual the right to make decisions on your behalf. 

You can only set one up when you still have the ability to make decisions and have ‘mental capacity.’ When we are deemed no longer to hold the capacity to make decisions in our own best interests, this is when a Power Of Attorney will come into action. 

Lasting Power Of Attorney

Lasting Power Of Attorney is the most commonly selected. It is an ongoing agreement allowing a chosen individual (an attorney) to make decisions on your behalf. 

The document must be registered with the government, which can currently take up to 20 weeks to finalize; once the process is complete, it can be used immediately. 

There are two types of Lasting Power Of Attorney which can be chosen individually; however, it is recommended to create both at the same time;

• Health And Welfare 
• Property And Financial Affairs

Health And Welfare

A Health And Welfare Attorney is a document created to determine who will care for your medical needs. You and the individual will discuss what responsibilities they will have in areas such as:

• Living arrangements 
• Medical care
• Personal care such as washing, dressing and meals. 
• Dental and optical care

Having a Health And Welfare Attorney is something that many opt for as it allows the person you select to overrule a DNR. If you are put in a position where a DNR has been enforced on you, the only time this will be able to be changed is by having an LPA in place for health and welfare.

Property And Financial Affairs

Property and finance allow you to appoint control to another person over your property and financial affairs. One will allow the selected individual to help make decisions on your behalf about things such as;

• bank and building society accounts
• money tax and bills
• pensions and investments
• pensions
• benefits

Many of us need to be made aware of factors such as if you or your partner lose capacity, the other will not be able to access joint accounts. You can only be protected against this by having a property and financial affairs power of attorney. One can not be created after you are deemed unable to make decisions in your best interests, so it is crucial to be prepared and have one in place beforehand. 

If you feel it is time for you to start your Will and have a lasting power of attorney in place, please be in touch, and we can discuss the best possible options to suit your circumstances.