LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY (LPA)
WHAT IS AN LPA?
These are vital documents and are a must to ensure that if you lose mental capacity or became unable to manage your own affairs, the people YOU want to make those decisions for you are legally able to do so! These people would need to become your Attorneys and you must arrange this whilst you have the capacity to do so!
We all associate losing capacity with Alzheimers and Dementia but what if you were to have a serious accident?
WE HAVE A JOINT BANK ACCOUNT SO WE DON'T NEED AN LPA DO WE?
This couldn’t be further from the truth and the reality is that if someone loses capacity without an LPA in place, their assets are frozen, including jointly owned assets.
If a loved one loses mental capacity and there is not an LPA in place you would need to apply to The Court of Protection to become their ‘Deputy’.
THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF LPA:
– Property & Financial Affairs
– Health & Welfare
FURTHER INFORMATION
An LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used so the best advice is not to wait until you need it because it might well be too late.
The OPG charge a registration fee to register each LPA but this can be reduced or waivered depending on your personal circumstances.
Contact us to discuss LPAs in detail!