We would encourage anybody with questions about powers of attorney to contact us for a free initial consultation.
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
Many people mistakenly believe that their family/ next of kin can make decisions on their behalf regarding their health or their finances. This is incorrect. To allow someone to make decisions on your behalf you must have correctly executed and registered the right Power of Attorney.
There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney:
1. Health & Welfare; which allows your attorney to make decisions regarding your care once you have lost capacity, and
2. Property & Financial; which allows your attorney to manage all of your financial affairs either when you have lost capacity or when it is executed and registered.
Many people are not aware of why a Lasting Power of Attorney is so important, however, it is fast becoming one of the most crucial legal documents that a person will need in their lifetime.
There are a number of different reasons why everybody should consider making a Power of Attorney sooner rather than later. The primary reason being that when most people actually require one they can no longer instruct a solicitor to make one.
Once someone has lost capacity to make a Power of Attorney then this means that their loved ones will either be unable to make decisions on their behalf or will have to go through a considerably longer and more costly process of obtaining a deputyship order from the court.
Enduring Powers of Attorney
Enduring Powers of Attorney have now been replaced with Lasting Powers of Attorney.
If you have an Enduring Power of Attorney then we would encourage you to book a free initial consultation to check that it still suits your current needs.
Enduring Power of Attorney documents will still need to be registered to use them and we can assist you in doing this.
