Lasting Power of Atto ey

Anyone who loses mental capacity is likely to need someone to look after their affairs.

One way of doing this is to set up a Lasting Power of Atto
ey (LPA) beforehand. This enables you to choose an atto
ey you trust, to regulate his powers and offer guidance on how the power is exercised should the time come when the LPA is needed.

A loss of mental capacity can occur for a variety of reasons related to illness, injury, stroke or dementia, so it could happen at any time in your life, nut just when you are older.

The fundamental problem that comes with a loss of capacity is that no other person has a legal right to deal with your financial affairs. What happens is that all your bank and savings accounts are frozen and that includes joint accounts too. This is a surprise for many people and the problems that might follow if all your funds are tied up like this are obvious.

To get the necessary legal authority an application to the Court of Protection needs to be made to have a deputy appointed. This is a slow process likely to take at least 4 months and it is costly. There is also a recurring annual fee for deputies.

Having a Lasting Power of Atto
ey avoids this whole COP deputy issue and the associated expense. It also saves a lot of anxiety for those left to deal with the aftermath of lost capacity.

Following the abolition of Enduring Powers of Atto
ey two versions of the LPA were created.

There is the LPA Health and Welfare which can deal with issues related to medical treatment, life sustaining treatment, where you live and how you live.

The LPA Property and Financial Affairs can deal with buying and selling property, running, opening and closing bank accounts, welfare benefits and a range of financial issues.

You get to choose who you want to be your atto
ey or atto
eys. You can direct that your atto
eys make joint decisions if you have more than one or some joint and some individually (known as severally).

The number of LPAs being made is increasing. The reason for this is unclear but it may be as a result of greater longevity or it may be a greater understanding of the problems that are associated with not having one if the time comes that you lose capacity.

You can complete the LPA Forms yourself and there is guidance on the government website but the forms are long and a little complex. It is clear that if you make a mistake the LPA application will be rejected and a further fee must be paid, which is currently £130 for an application or £65 for a resubmission withi
3 months.

You can get help to complete your Lasting Power of Atto
ey but do find out what is being offered. Many offers are just glorified form filling from some 'quasi-legal professionals', without much help or advice and leave you to deal with all the other details such as getting a certificate provider and notifications. There is plenty of scope for getting this wrong.

Many qualified lawyers such as solicitors and barristers also offer their services and that is normally a complete service covering all aspects of the application including acting as the certificate provider, which is a person or persons who formally certify that the person making the LPA is aware of the importance of the document, its powers and has a good reason for making it.