Lasting Powers of Attorney

Our specialist Wills solicitors can help you to ensure that trusted individuals can act on your behalf for financial, health, and welfare matters, granting you and your loved ones peace of mind in uncertain times. It is essential to get these in place in good time, should it arise that you lose mental capacity, to avoid family members having to go through a much more expensive and time-consuming Court of Protection application to be able to manage your affairs.

There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney

• Property and finance – this enables you to appoint one or more attorneys to take care of matters such as your bank accounts, investments, shareholdings and properties. You can also opt to give your attorneys the ability to make decisions on your behalf before you lose capacity (with your authority)
• Health and welfare – this enables you to appoint one or more attorneys to take care of matters such as your medical treatment and social care should you lose capacity. You are also able to decide whether your attorneys can make the decision to give or refuse life-sustaining treatment in your behalf

Both types of Lasting Power of Attorney also allow you to include wishes (non-binding) and instructions (binding) to guide your Attorneys. These need to be drafted very carefully as they will not be effective otherwise. Get in touch with one of our specialists for some advice.

FAQs

I want to appoint my spouse and children as attorneys, but do not want my children to act unless my spouse has died or has lost capacity – can I do this?

Yes, you can appoint your husband as a sole attorney initially, with your children as replacements, able to step only when he is unable to act.

Can I appoint different attorneys for each type of Lasting Power of Attorney?

Yes, the two are separate powers, so you can choose different people as attorneys if you feel that they would be suitable for one but not the other.

How many attorneys should I appoint?

Ideally, you would want to appoint enough attorneys so that there will always be someone to act for you. We suggest aiming for three (one or two could be replacement attorneys) to ensure that should anything happen to one or two of your attorneys and you are not able to make a new Lasting Powers of Attorney, then you will be covered.

Contact our Wills & Probate specialists today for further support when it comes to Lasting Powers of Attorney, using 02920 829 100, or by visiting our contact page, or filling out the enquiry form below.