Why do I need an LPA?

You never know what life is going to throw at you. You may think you’re invincible but old age and ill health creep up on us all. Or you may have a major accident and be unable to look after yourself.

So, it’s a good idea to be prepared for any eventuality. 

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions on your behalf if you cannot or do not want to make decisions anymore. You may have been diagnosed with dementia, for example, and have lost mental capacity. It is totally separate from a will.

Setting up an LPA means you can take control in advance and choose someone you trust to be in charge of making key decisions for you. A way of getting some peace of mind about the future. 

Different types of Power of Attorney

An Ordinary Power of Attorney is useful if you need cover for your financial affairs for a temporary period such as a stay in hospital. You would still have mental capacity in this scenario.        

There are also two types of Lasting Power of Attorney, which come into effect when you no longer have mental capacity:        

●     health and welfare

●     property and financial affairs

A health and welfare LPA allows you to appoint someone to make decisions about your healthcare and welfare, when you are no longer able to. This can include decisions about  consenting to or refusing treatment on your behalf, as well as about where you live. This type of  LPA only comes into effect if you have lost mental capacity.

A property and financial affairs LPA allows you to choose someone to make decisions about how your property affairs are managed, and how your money should be spent. It may cover aspects such as:

●     buying and selling property

●     paying the mortgage

●     arranging repairs to property

●     investing money

●     paying bills

A financial LPA can come into effect while you still have mental capacity but just do not want to make all the decisions. Or you can specify it only comes into effect if you lose capacity.   

You may also have heard of the term Enduring Power of Attorney. These were replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney in 2007.

What About Next of Kin?

You may assume that if you lost mental capacity, your spouse would automatically have access to your bank account or pension, and be able to make decisions about your finances and healthcare. This is not the case - you would need a lasting power of attorney for them to 

be able to act.  

People often think being next of kin is enough. But while your next of kin may be asked about what they think your wishes about your care may have been, they wouldn’t have any specific legal rights to make such decisions.  

Without an LPA in place, they would have to go to The Court of Protection which can be expensive, time consuming and stressful. 

Next steps

If you want to be prepared and in control over who handles your affairs, consider putting an LPA in place now. This means your attorney will be ready to act on your behalf as soon as needed.  

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is responsible for registering powers of attorney. 

It costs £82 to register an LPA in England and Wales and £164 if you are registering both an LPA for property and financial affairs and one for health and welfare.          

You can download and complete the forms yourself or we are happy to take care of your application if you prefer.  

Call us on 0161 480 2629 or email enquiries@thehowepractice.co.uk and we can get the process started.