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As people get older it may become increasingly difficult for them to manage their own affairs especially due to ill health or incapacity. Making a Lasting Power of Attorney will ensure that there is someone you can trust to manage your affairs if you become incapable of managing them yourself.
There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney:
One concerns your Personal Welfare
One concerns your Property and Financial Affairs
There is some crossover between the two but on the whole most of our clients just wish us to prepare the latter.
A Lasting Power of Attorney can be flexible. You may appoint one or more Attorneys to act for you. If you do appoint more than one individual, you can appoint them to act together when they make some or all of their decisions. You can also appoint a replacement Attorney.
To add a layer of protection; somebody will need to act as a Certificate Provider when the Lasting Power of Attorney is prepared. This person will confirm whether you have sufficient mental capacity to prepare the Power. The Certificate Provider can either be someone you have known for over two years or a professional such as a Doctor or Solicitor.
You may also notify one or more individuals when the Lasting Power of Attorney is registered. This gives them a chance to object on your behalf should they be aware of any reason why the person who you have nominated should not so act.
Unfortunately, if you are judged to have insufficient capacity to make a Lasting Power of Attorney; an application will need to be made to the Court of Protection for a Deputy to be appointed. There is no certainty that the person who applies to act on your behalf will be appointed and a court nominated officer may be asked to act in their stead. That person may charge for any work undertaken and the cost of applying to the Court of Protection is a lot higher than the initial costs of preparing and registering a Lasting Power of Attorney.
We can offer a discount to clients preparing a Lasting Power of Attorney at the same time as a Will.