Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) are such important documents and are becoming much more widely used these days.
There are two types of Lasting Powers, one is for Property and Financial Affairs and the other is for Health and Welfare.
Both types of documents allow you to ensure that important decisions about either your finances or your health can be made for you if you were to lose capacity.
The person making the application is called the “donor” and it is the donor who would appoint at least two attorneys to act on their behalf. Your attorneys should be family or friends whom you can trust. Having Lasting Powers in place can mean peace of mind for the future.
Property & Financial Affairs Lasting Power
If you own a property or have bank accounts in your sole name, no one can sell your house or access your bank accounts in your place unless they are appointed under your Lasting Power of Attorney or they obtain a court order
Health & Welfare Lasting Power
If you lose capacity or are unconscious and need medical treatment, your wishes may not followed unless you have appointed someone under your Lasting Power of Attorney. You can allow someone to make a decision as to whether you have life sustaining treatment or not.
Losing mental capacity without an LPA
As stated above, Lasting Powers of Attorney essentially safeguard you should you ever lose mental capacity during your lifetime. In the circumstances that you were to lose mental capacity and did not have an LPA in place. It can be difficult for your friends or family to access your finances or make decisions on your behalf. They would need to make an application to the Court of Protection for what is known as Deputyship Order.
A deputy would work similarly to the way an attorney would for an LPA. However, the deputy would be the person applying to the Court stating that you have lost mental capacity and your finances or general welfare need looking after. Deputyship Orders are a lengthy process which can often take anything from several months to one year to complete. It is at the Court’s discretion to make the decision on whether a person is suitable to become a deputy, they will assess this information from the application form that is provided. Once the Order is granted for Property and Financial Affairs the Court will ask that a security bond is set up first. It is vital to know that a deputy cannot sell any jointly owned property – a separate Court Order must made to do so.
For further advice on Lasting Powers of Attorney, call 01902 313311 or email alisonwestwood@thornessolicitors.co.uk
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