It is not uncommon to hear of a friend or relative who is having difficulty or suffering hardship, if a Spouse or Civil Partner has a mental or physical illness and is incapable of making important decisions.  A Lasting Power of Attorney, formally known as Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) is able to relieve that burden by empowering an Attorney to make personal and financial decisions on the behalf of the person incapable of doing so.

There are two types of LPA:

• Property and Affairs LPA
• Personal Welfare LPA

The reason for two different types of LPA is that each LPA offers a set of different circumstances.

A Property and Affairs LPA offers you the choice of appointing an Attorney who is able to look after your financial interests, manage Bank and Building Society Accounts and pay regular bill on your behalf.  It also means the Attorney is able to safeguard the affairs of any property you may own.  A Property and Affairs LPA is ideally suited for those who may or are likely to suffer from:  a severe learning disability, mental health problems, dementia, a brain injury, a stroke or unconsciousness due to an anaesthetic or a sudden accident. Your Attorney role is not just limited should you suffer from one of the above conditions. The Attorney can act on your behalf in a number of different ways, for example: If you should be out of the country and not able to get back in time to sign an urgent and vital document (property transfer), your Attorney can sign the paperwork on your behalf.

Personal Welfare LPA applies to a situation where the Attorney has to make a decision about your welfare and healthcare. Your Attorney is responsible to ensure your welfare is adequately looked after should you need to go into care.  The Attorney will also be responsible for the decision to agree to or refuse any medical treatment on your behalf. It is also the Attorneys decision to make any immediate life threatening decision and my involve terminating life support machines.  This type of LPA is not effective until the registrant donor is certified that they have lost their mental capacity. To further safeguard the Donor’s interests, during the registration process the Donor is able to nominate up to 5 people who can be notified of the application.  Those who have been notified are able to object to the registration should they feel the Attorney is inappropriate.  The Donor is not duty bound to make any nominations, but we would strongly advise they do.

Before appointing a Lasting Power of Attorney you need to consider several key elements:

• What relationship and trust do you hold with the LPA
• What level of financial stability do the LPA hold
• Is the LPA going to act in your best interests
• Is the LPA going agree and be happy at being appointed
• The Attorney must be over the age of 18
• A Property and Affairs LPA must not be a bankrupt

In most cases people will choose their spouse or children to act as an LPA. Other relatives or friends may also be asked along with professional with a medical or legal background.  It is not uncommon to appoint more than one Attorney to prevent an abuse of an individual’s responsibility. Should you select two LPA you must decide whether they are to act together or independently?

Making a Lasting Power of Attorney

The Probate Bureau offer simple free advice on LPA matters and can provide a Property and Affairs LPA or a Personal Welfare LPA at a fixed cost. We strongly recommend you consider applying for an LPA at any time, but more so when it is time to have a Will written or redrafted.

There are three options when considering having an LPA drawn up:

1. DIY approach
2. Solicitor
3. The Probate Bureau

DIY approach

The Office of Public Guardian provides the required forms to complete and register an LPA, which can be done by either the Donor or Attorney.  On submitting the forms and providing the forms are completed accurately the process usually takes approximately 8 weeks. Any errors within the LPA application are notified within 2 weeks of the application being received. To register the LPA requires a fee of £120.00.

Solicitors

Solicitors are duty bound to provide excellent Lasting Powers of Attorney, but unfortunately at a premium rate and does not necessarily represent great value for money.  Especially when more complicated Property and Affairs LPA is required due to the complex nature of some estates.

The Probate Bureau

Because The Probate Bureau also deals in probate administration and Wills, we often see the pitfalls people and other legal professions make in determining adequate LPA(s). It is not until after the event when we administer probate and carry out the deceased wishes, that we see how in effective some LPA(s) can be.  It is with this knowledge and years of experience that The Probate Bureau produces LPA(s) to a higher standard than our competitors in order to protect client interests.  In today’s complex society of business and property a Property and Affairs LPA is not as straightforward and requires in depth preparation.  Depending on the nature of the LPA and whether it is registered or unregistered it doesn’t necessarily cost you that much more.

Before doing anything, why not give us a call. Our free advisory and appointment service does not cost anything.  We base our business on providing a quality service to customers.  Talk to one of our advisors today for peace of mind by calling 0800 028 2837.