What is a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and why is it important?
LPAs are legal documents to which you can appoint people to make decisions on your behalf (your attorneys) and to help manage your affairs should you be unable to yourself or if you need assistance.
There are two types of LPAs – one to cover property and financial decisions in which attorneys can act with authority from you or when you lose capacity on a range of matters including paying bills, dealing with investments, managing utilities, and liaising with pension providers, and even selling property.
The second type of LPA is for health and welfare decisions, which includes but is not limited to speaking to GPs and medical professionals, arranging social care and treatment, and also includes a section dedicated to decisions on life-sustaining treatment. LPAs for health and welfare can only be used by attorneys in the event that you cannot make those decisions yourself.
You can tailor the LPA to include instructions and guidance to ensure that your affairs are managed exactly how you wish. Attorneys must however always act in your best interests.
Before an LPA is valid and can be used by attorneys, it needs to be registered by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). There are strict signing procedures that need to be followed to ensure the LPA is valid and not rejected by the OPG.
Many people think LPAs only need to be put into place if they become unwell or at a later stage in life. It is also quite common for clients to request LPAs for relatives who are seriously unwell in hospital after discussions with medical professionals and social services.
The reality of putting LPAs in place is that the registration process currently can take over five months due to the sheer number of applications and the backlog at the Office of the Public Guardian after the pandemic.
It is important to plan ahead to ensure all your affairs are in order, including having a Registered LPA in place should they ever be needed with urgency in the future.
How we can help
At Nelsons, we can explain the LPA process to you, including advice on how attorneys can be appointed, how they can act as well as tailoring the LPAs to ensure it fully reflects your wishes. For further advice, please contact a member of our Wills, Trusts & Probate team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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