Lasting Powers of Attorney- Preparing Sensibly for the Future


Lasting Powers of Attorney - Preparing Sensibly for the Future

Given the nature of the ageing population and worry of falling into ill-health in later life, people are often concerned about the future cost of their care and their ability to pass on their estate to their loved ones. Whilst this is a genuine concern for people, an equally important thing to consider is making sure the right framework is in place for someone to be able to support you, if you are unable to make decisions for yourself anymore.

 

The best way of making sure someone can support you in the future is by setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney, this will allow you to choose the people you wish to make decisions on your behalf if and when you can’t decide for yourself anymore.

 

A Lasting Power of Attorney is an important document and it is vital to take care to make sure it is prepared correctly to allow you to be comfortably taken care of in the future.

 

There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney, one covers decisions regarding your finances (allowing your attorneys to pay your bills, access money in your bank account for you and to potentially sell your property if needed) the other covers health (giving power to make decisions on where you will live, what medical treatment you will receive and potentially decisions on life sustaining treatment). It is possible to set up both Lasting Powers of Attorney if you wish and you can name as many attorneys on each as you like.

 

It is important to set up the Lasting Power of Attorney whilst you still have capacity to make decisions for yourself, this will allow you to decide who can make decisions for you in the future. If you don’t set up a Lasting Power of Attorney it will be necessary for the Court of Protection to decide who can make decisions for you, this takes the decision out of your hands and is also a much more expensive and long-winded process.

 

Overall, as a solicitor, the best advice I can give any client is to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney as soon as possible. Once it has been prepared you can hopefully leave it in a drawer and hope to never need to use it again, however if circumstances occur which mean you need to rely on the support of others to make decisions for you, you will be so glad you took the time to set it up when you did.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Find my Will! A blog on lost Wills and how to stay one step ahead!

Find my Will! A blog on lost Wills and how to stay one step ahead! Finding a lost Will is no easy task and the trap of losing your Will is something that happens oh so easily.   Like a mobile phone down the sofa or remembering where you put your keys, legal documentation   is no different! You might at this stage be asking “how could I lose something as important as my Will” but you’ll   be surprised at how easily it happens! One of the most common ways that a Will is lost is by self-storage. “If I make the Will and store it myself, it can’t go missing right?” However that is often the problem. Because a Will is so important, and the content so sensitive, they often get hidden away. This means that they may be safe from prying eyes, but in later years or during a house move or clear out, a Will could often be lost. It could also be that you pass away and your loved ones are struggling to find your Will. If there isn’t a clear indicator as to its location, it cou...
Read more

Organ donation and your Will: Make your wishes known!

Organ donation and your Will: Make your wishes known! On the 1st December 2015, Wales made history by becoming the first country in the United Kingdom to create an “opt out” system of organ donation. Formally introduced by the Human Transplantation Wales Act, the plan was to combat the lack of organ donation by making everyone an organ donor unless they formally registered their wish not to be. Over two years on, it would appear that the scheme, although still in its infancy, is still creating waves with both the English and Scottish parliament considering whether to also implement such schemes. This also comes at a time when the number of organ donors is at an all-time high, with a report today detailing an astounding 11% increase in 2017. Given the recent implementation of such schemes, you may be left wondering where you stand on compulsory organ donation, and the toss up of helping others when you’re gone against the right to decide what happens to your body after death...
Read more

End of life care and Lasting Powers of Attorney: Giving power back to your loved ones.

End of life care and Lasting Powers of Attorney: Giving power back to your loved ones. By Samuel Amer On the 30 th of July, the UK Supreme Court handed down an unprecedented decision. The court held that when an individual was in a permanent vegetative state, and there was an agreement between the family and doctors, medical staff could withdraw food & water from the patient allowing them to pass away. This decision is seen as quite a departure from legal precedent. Previously families and doctors who were in agreement would have to endure an agonising process of applying to the Court of Protection to have life sustaining care removed. Although some groups feel that the decision is inhumane, many people who have endured the terrible situation of watching a loved one needlessly remain in an undignified state have welcomed the ruling. As the nation’s aged population increases, it’s the case that more of us have developed our own views on end of life care, and also...
Read more