A Lasting Power of Attorney can help you plan how your health, well-being and financial affairs can and will be looked after. It allows you to plan in advance:
- the decisions you want to be made on your behalf if you lose capacity to make them yourself
- the people you want to make these decisions
- how you want the people to make these decisions
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Having a Lasting Power of Attorney is a safe way of maintaining control over decisions made for you because:
- it has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used
- you choose someone to provide a ‘certificate’, which means they confirm that you understand the significance and purpose of who you are appointing and what for
- you can choose who gets told about your Lasting Power of Attorney when it is registered (so they have an opportunity to raise concerns)
- your signature and the signatures of your chosen attorneys must be witnessed
- your attorney(s) must follow the Code of Practice of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and act in your best interests
- the Office of the Public Guardian provides helpful support and advice
Appointing an Attorney is a very important decision and in order to ensure it is the right thing to do for all concerned it must be sent to the Office of the Public Guardian to be reviewed and approved.
The registration of a Lasting Power of Attorney can take up to 9 weeks, sometimes more depending on how busy the Office of the Public Guardian is
There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney:
- Health and Welfarewhich allows you to choose a representative to make decisions in your best interests relating to medical treatment. You should note that this Lasting Power of Attorney cannot be used unless you lose capacity.
- Property and Financial affairswhich allows you to choose a representative to make decisions in your best interests relating to your property and financial affairs. You should note that this Lasting Power of Attorney can be used before or after you lose capacity.
Appointing an Attorney is one of the most important decisions you may ever have to make and it is vitally important to make sure that you get the right advice from the very start.
Without a Lasting Power of Attorney, your family and friends may find it difficult to manage your affairs if an when you lose capacity. They may be left needing to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order, which can be costly and time consuming.
We have extensive experience in this area and will give practical, sympathetic advice tailored to individual circumstances.
Call us or use our contact form to arrange a free, confidential initial appointment for more information.
General Power of Attorney
A General Power of Attorney (also known as an Ordinary Power of Attorney) is usually created for a period of less than 12 months where the person creating that Power (the donor) is going to be unable to act for some reason (perhaps going abroad) and wishes his/her Attorney to have authority to act on his or her behalf. The power granted can be general or limited to a specific matter.
The General Power of Attorney will usually come to an end either at a specified time or after 12 months. There is no requirement for a General Power of Attorney to be registered.
Enduring Powers of Attorney
Prior to 1st October 2007, it was possible to make an Enduring Power of Attorney rather than a Lasting Power of Attorney. Whilst it is no longer possible to make an Enduring Power of Attorney today, many are still valid and in existence. These did not need to be registered when made, but do still need to be registered if the person that made it subsequently loses capacity.
We can help with registration, deal with objections should any be made, assist in making an objection should one feel it is necessary and of course assist in any subsequent Court proceedings.
Please contact us on:
info@avadis.co.uk or 020 7267 8864
for an initial telephone or email consultation.
