LASTING POWERS OF ATTORNEY
(LPAs)
We're fast - LPAs ready within 24 hours
Lasting Powers of Attorney gives your family legal authority to make decisions or do things for you immediately, should you lose capacity. Without these in place, your family would have to apply for attorneyship via the Court of Protection. Court costs plus disbursements are in excess of £2,500 and time scales are 9 to 12 months.
In the meanwhile, all your assets including joint bank accounts & investments are frozen until an attorney has been put in place. This can cause tremendous hardship on your spouse & family.
The Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) comprises two documents, one for your financial affairs and the other for your personal welfare. These documents are called Lasting Power of Attorney - Property & Finance and Lasting Power of Attorney - Health and Welfare.
The 2 types of LPAs explained:
Lasting Power of Attorney - Property & Finance
The Lasting Power of Attorney - Property and Finance deals with matters relating to your property & financial affairs. If someday you lack capacity to look after your own financial affairs, this document will entitle your property and financial attorney(s) to do the following types of things:
-
Opening, closing or operating bank accounts
-
Claiming and receiving on your behalf, all pensions, benefits, allowances, services, financial contributions, repayments, rebates.
-
Making all tax returns and adjusting and settling any claim for tax
-
Paying your household expenses
-
Buying, leasing, selling property
-
Paying for private medical care and residential care costs
Lasting Power of Attorney - Health & Welfare
The Lasting Power of Attorney -Health and Welfare deals with matters relating to your personal welfare, i.e. your social and health care needs. If in the future you lack the ability to look after your own personal welfare, this document will entitle your health & welfare attorney(s) to do the following types of things :
-
Deciding where you live.
-
Making day-to-day decisions, what you will eat or what clothes you will wear.
-
Making decisions about what medical care you will receive, including (if you agree to it in the LPA) whether or not you will receive life-sustaining treatment.
-
Deciding when and where you will go on holiday.
-
Deciding what social activities you might participate in.
Your attorneys are restricted from doing any of the following:
-
Consent to place a child up for adoption or consent to the adoption of a child
-
Consent to sexual relations
-
Give you medical treatment for a mental disorder or consent to you being given medical treatment for a mental disorder if your treatment is regulated by Part 4 of the Mental Health Act 1983
-
Decide to vote on your behalf
-
Consent to marriage or civil partnership
-
Consent to a decree of divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership on the basis of two years’ separation
Instructions & guidance
These are areas of both LPAs where you can include any instructions/guidance you may have for your attorney(s). As instructions are legally binding upon your attorney(s) we would recommend you take a read on instructions and guidance in this document.