What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a document that allows you to appoint another person to make decisions for you. There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney:
- Lasting Power of Attorney for property and financial affairs
- Lasting Power of Attorney for health and welfare
You can appoint more than one attorney, and you can appoint replacement attorneys. You can also give guidance to your attorneys about how you would like them to act when they carry out their role, and we can discuss this with you. You can also give your attorneys authority to make decisions about life-sustaining treatment on your behalf using the Lasting Power of Attorney for health and welfare, should you so wish.
A Lasting Power of Attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (link: Office of the Public Guardian – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) before they can be used. The registration process can take up to 3-4 months, therefore it is sensible to consider making a Lasting Power of Attorney well in advance of needing to use it. However, once they are registered, they can be used even if you lose the mental capacity to manage your own finances or make decisions about your care and accommodation.
A Lasting Power of Attorney is different from an Enduring Power of Attorney, which can no longer be made, or an Ordinary Power of Attorney, which only has effect whilst you retain mental capacity to manage your own finances.
Please get in touch with us if you want to discuss how we can help you.
