Lasting Powers of Attorney Solicitors
Planning for the future can feel daunting, but putting the right legal arrangements in place can protect you and make things easier for you and your loved ones.
A Power of Attorney allows trusted people to make decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to do so yourself. Most of us don’t like to think about what would happen if we lost the ability to make important decisions about our lives, whether through illness, injury or the effects of aging. However, if you don’t put in place the right measures to allow these key decisions to be made, if you become unable to do so yourself, you could cause a lot of problems for yourself and your loved ones.
We can help with:
- Drafting Lasting Powers of Attorney
- Lasting Power of Attorney Registration
- General Powers of Attorney
- Registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney
- Attorney Advice
- LPA Management
- Professional Attorney Services
Lasting Powers of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney, often called an LPA, is a legal document that lets you choose up to four people (known as ‘Attorneys’) to make decisions for you if you are unable to make those decisions yourself in the future. You are also able to appoint up to four Replacement Attorneys, in case one or more of your original Attorneys become permanently unable to act.
LPAs should be carefully prepared to ensure that they accurately reflect your wishes and give your Attorneys the right authority to act, when required. This can include decisions about your property, finances, health and welfare.
Our qualified LPA lawyers can guide you through the process, explain your options clearly and prepare documents that provide you with peace of mind that your affairs will be dealt with properly.
Types of Lasting Power of Attorney
There are two main types of LPA. Many people choose to put both in place so that their financial, health and welfare needs are covered.
Property and Financial Affairs LPA
This type of LPA allows your attorneys to make decisions about your money, property and financial affairs. This may include managing your bank accounts, investments and pensions, paying your bills, applying for benefits or support for you, and buying or selling property.
Health and Welfare LPA
This type of LPA allows your attorneys to make decisions about your health, care and personal welfare if you cannot make those decisions yourself. This may include decisions about where you live, your day-to-day care, medical treatment and, if you choose, life-sustaining treatment.
Business LPA
If you own or run a business, you may also wish to consider a Business Lasting Power of Attorney to help ensure your business affairs can continue to be managed if you are unable to deal with them yourself.
How much do Lasting Powers of Attorney cost?
The cost will depend on whether you would like to put in place a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, a Health and Welfare LPA, or both.
For straightforward drafting and registration, we will be able to agree a fixed fee in advance. If your circumstances are more complex, we will explain the likely costs clearly and keep you informed throughout.
Putting an LPA in place while you are able to make your own decisions can protect your future and give reassurance to those closest to you.
If you would like to find out more about LPAs, or if you would like to book an appointment with one of our lawyers contact us today on 01752 292 292, or request a call back.
For your convenience, we can also take instructions remotely by video call where appropriate.
General Powers of Attorney
A General Power of Attorney gives authority to your chosen Attorney(s) to act on your behalf for specific matters.
General Powers of Attorney are often used where someone needs another person to sign documents or deal with a particular transaction for them imminently. For example, they may be helpful if you are abroad when a property or business transaction needs to be completed.
They can be tailored to your circumstances and can give either restricted or wider authority, depending on your circumstances. However, General Powers of Attorney are usually more limited than Lasting Powers of Attorney. For example, they often expire after 12 months and will always come to an end if the person who made them loses mental capacity.
We can assist with General Powers of Attorney by:
- Checking your requirements – i.e., what do you need to authorise your Attorneys to do for you?
- Liaising with colleagues in other departments such as Residential Property or our Commercial Team
- Drafting the General Power of Attorney
- Urgent General Power of Attorney Service where we can produce the document for you at short notice.
For long-term planning, a Lasting Power of Attorney is often more appropriate because it can continue to be used if you lose mental capacity.
Enduring Powers of Attorney
An Enduring Power of Attorney, or EPA, is a document similar to an LPA. Whilst it is no longer possible to make an EPA as they have been replaced by LPAs, pre-existing EPAs are still valid and can be used and registered. However, it is advisable to review pre-existing EPAs to ensure that they are still appropriate for your circumstances.
Like an LPA, and EPA is a document appointing one or more people (the Attorneys) to deal with your property and financial affairs. An EPA only covers personal finance and property and does not allow an appointed Attorney to make decisions about a person’s health and welfare.
Once created, it is possible for the Attorneys to use the EPA immediately, whilst the person has capacity. However, once they start to lose capacity, the Attorneys can no longer act under the EPA until it is registered and there is a duty for the Attorneys to go through the registration procedure.
Registering the EPA must be done through the Office of the Public Guardian. When registering the EPA, the Attorneys will need the original document and will need to complete various other forms to accompany this. There are strict procedures involved when registering an EPA which must be adhered to.
If you would like assistance with an existing EPA, please contact us today on 01752 292 292, or request a call back.
Were here to support you and your family.
we also appreciate that acting as an Attorney can feel daunting. We offer fixed-fee advice sessions for Attorneys, where we explain their role, responsibilities and the decisions they can and cannot make.
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