Lasting Powers of Attorney
Shirah Real comments on LPA'sA Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows you to choose someone now (an Attorney) that you trust to make decisions on your behalf about your property and financial affairs or health and welfare at a time in the future when you no longer wish to make those decisions or perhaps lack the mental capacity to do so yourself.
An LPA is a very powerful document, so when choosing your Attorney or Attorneys you need to be completely confident that you have picked the right person to carry out the tasks involved. Bear in mind that if you do not have the mental capacity, you may not be able to monitor what they are doing on your behalf but if you have any doubts in this respect you can always appoint a legal professional to be your Attorney if you so wish.
It is important to remember that an LPA can only be used after it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian and, on occasions, this may take some time.
Anyone aged 18 or over, providing they have the mental capacity to do so, can make an LPA appointing one or more Attorneys to make decisions on their behalf. Unlike the old Enduring Power of Attorney you cannot make an LPA jointly with another person; each person must make his or her own LPA.
An LPA is a very important document and you may want to seek advice before making a final decision in regard to preparing one and appointing Attorneys. Although there is always a choice as to whether to seek independent legal advice or not this is a document that provides wide and powerful rights and we would suggest this should not be taken lightly.
Government figures show that only 135,000 people registered a Lasting Power of Attorney in the last two years in England and Wales and, as recently demonstrated by an item on BBC 1’s One Show recently, not having a Lasting Power of Attorney can not only be a very expensive exercise but also a terrible emotional burden for your loved ones.
An LPA is a very powerful document, so when choosing your Attorney or Attorneys you need to be completely confident that you have picked the right person to carry out the tasks involved. Bear in mind that if you do not have the mental capacity, you may not be able to monitor what they are doing on your behalf but if you have any doubts in this respect you can always appoint a legal professional to be your Attorney if you so wish.
It is important to remember that an LPA can only be used after it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian and, on occasions, this may take some time.
Anyone aged 18 or over, providing they have the mental capacity to do so, can make an LPA appointing one or more Attorneys to make decisions on their behalf. Unlike the old Enduring Power of Attorney you cannot make an LPA jointly with another person; each person must make his or her own LPA.
An LPA is a very important document and you may want to seek advice before making a final decision in regard to preparing one and appointing Attorneys. Although there is always a choice as to whether to seek independent legal advice or not this is a document that provides wide and powerful rights and we would suggest this should not be taken lightly.
Government figures show that only 135,000 people registered a Lasting Power of Attorney in the last two years in England and Wales and, as recently demonstrated by an item on BBC 1’s One Show recently, not having a Lasting Power of Attorney can not only be a very expensive exercise but also a terrible emotional burden for your loved ones.
posted by Brooks-Partners at
15:56
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