A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal documents that specifies who will be able to make decisions if you are unable to. The person that you authorise to make such decisions is called your “attorney”.
There are two types of LPA:
- Property & Finances
- Health & Welfare
The Property & Finances LPA enables your attorney to access bank accounts, pay bills or sell property. It can only be used with your consent or if you were to lose mental capacity.
The Health & Welfare LPA enable your attorney to speak to your doctors, decide where you should live and also make life sustaining treatment decisions for you. It can only be used if you were to lose mental capacity.
Because an LPA gives someone significant power over your finances and well-being it is therefore very important to ensure you are receiving advice from professional experts before putting this in place.
We can assist by advising who should be your attorney and if any wishes or guidance should be included in the LPA.
Your LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used.
We offer fixed fees for one or both types of LPAs, which includes preparing and advising in respect of the LPAs and also registering them with the OPG.
We also offer advice to attorneys as to what they can and cannot do and can assist with applying for additional powers through the Court of Protection if needed.
We can additionally assist with advising and registering Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs). These are the older versions of LPAs which were made prior to 2007 and relate to property and finances only. They are still valid (although they can no longer be made) and we can assist with advising clients in respect of these documents as well.
