The last couple of years have made us all much more conscious that our health can change overnight and this has the potential to leave us temporarily, or permanently unable to manage our affairs.

We know, either through the experiences of people we know or stories shown in the media, that any such loss of capacity could cause major problems for ourselves and those closest to us.

Setting up Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) can protect you against such eventualities.

These enable an individual to appoint somebody they trust to look after their health and welfare and/or their property and finances should they ever lose the capacity to do this for themselves. Any appointed Attorney would be duty-bound to not only act in their interest but make decisions based on how they believe the appointee would wish for them to be made.

We would recommend everybody looks into the benefits of doing this. Whilst you may never have a need to have decisions made for you, a Lasting Power of Attorney ensures your interests are protected by somebody you trust should the worst happen.

Moreover, having a LPA in place can ensure you are not hit with delays on important decisions should you lose capacity. If you were to lose capacity without an existing LPA, an application to the Court of Protection would be necessary asking for a Court Order to authorise another person to deal with your property and financial affairs. This can be a lengthy process, and possibly involving a requirement for a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) assessment,  which could mean in the interim urgent actions simply cannot be authorised on your behalf.

If you feel you, or somebody close to you, would benefit from having Lasting Powers of Attorney in place, we can help. Our lawyers are highly knowledgeable in this problematic area, and are able to provide cost-effective solutions for you.

Contact Anne on 01977 781351, email anne.caswell@carterssolicitors.co.uk or complete our online enquiry form and one of our experts will contact you.