Lasting Power of Attorney - What is It?
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows a person (the donor) to appoint people they trust (their attorneys) to make decisions for them when they no longer have the mental capacity to do so themselves. An LPA has to be made while the donor still has mental capacity.
The Importance of Preparing a Lasting Power of Attorney in Loss of Mental Capacity Cases
If you fear that you may lose mental capacity at some stage, the advantage of a Lasting Power of Attorney is that you can plan for such an eventuality. With an LPA, you can decide now who will make your decisions in the future if you lose capacity and the people you want to make those decisions. You could even allow different people to make different decisions – such as one person being your financial attorney and another being your health attorney.
Whatever the scope of their decision-making responsibilities, attorneys are under a duty to act in the donor's best interests at all times.
A Lasting Power of Attorney is only valid once it is registered with Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). Once the LPA has been registered with the OPG, your attorneys will be able to act on your behalf in accordance with the terms of the LPA.
A potential consequence of not preparing an LPA is that your loved ones may have to make a deputyship application to the Court of Protection to have a deputy appointed for you if you lose capacity. The deputy can then manage your finance or health decisions. This can be a long and expensive process. Those with no close relatives or friends may have an Independent Mental Capacity Adviser assigned by the Court and eventually, a professional deputy may be appointed. This is unlikely to be anyone you knew before you lost capacity.
You must think carefully about who you would want to appoint as your attorney(s). Our team are experienced in drafting effective LPAs and are on hand to provide the advice and guidance you need. We advise all of our clients to create LPAs at the same time as making a Will.
Lasting Power of Attorney Explained
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows a person (the donor) to appoint people they trust (their attorneys) to make decisions for them when they no longer have the mental capacity to do so themselves. An LPA has to be made while the donor still has mental capacity.
What is an attorney?
An attorney is the name for the person the donor chooses to make decisions for them (either in relation to financial or health matters) when they lack the mental capacity to decide for themself. The attorney may be a member of your family, a friend, or a professional person.
How many attorneys can I have?
In theory, you could have as many as you like but in practice, you would not normally have more than four. If you appoint more than one, you do have to say whether they are to act: jointly – meaning that any decisions must be taken by all attorneys together, or jointly and severally – meaning the attorneys can make decisions on their own or together. If you choose jointly and severally, the Lasting Powers of Attorney will not end if an attorney is unable or unwilling to act. However, if you choose jointly and an attorney is unable or unwilling to act (e.g., they have died), the Lasting Power of Attorney would be void and unusable.
If I complete the Lasting Power of Attorney application now, does it mean I will no longer be able to make decisions for myself?
No. In relation to the LPA for Health and Welfare, this cannot be used if you still have mental capacity. So if you have mental capacity until you die, your attorneys will never make decisions for you.
For the LPA for Property and Financial Affairs, you can choose if it only takes effect if you lose mental capacity (meaning if you have mental capacity up until you die, your attorneys will never make decisions for you); or if it is effective as soon as it is registered. If you choose for it to take effect on registration, you can continue to manage your finances as you did before but it gives you the scope to allow your attorneys to start acting for you whenever you want them to. You may ask them to act on your behalf if, for instance, you are physically unable to get to the bank or building society to manage your finances (but you still have mental capacity).
To book an appointment or make an enquiry about a Lasting Power of Attorney, either call 0113 320 5000 or email wills&probate@winstonsolicitors.co.uk. Additionally, you can find out what other services we offer at our Leeds solicitors.
NB: timescales and fees are subject to change – please ask for details.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows a person (the donor) to appoint someone or more than one person they trust (attorneys) to make decisions for them when they no longer have the mental capacity to make the decisions themselves. An LPA has to be made while the donor still has the mental capacity to give their consent to it.
In theory, you could have as many as you like but in practice, you would not normally have more than four. If you appoint more than one, you do have to say how they are to act: jointly – meaning that any decisions must be taken by all attorneys together; or jointly and severally – meaning that each attorney can make a decision independently of the other. If it is joint and several, the Lasting Powers of Attorney will not end if an attorney can no longer act but if joint, if an attorney can no longer act, the LPA ends.
No. As long as you have mental capacity, you retain control and you can always revoke the power of attorney. With a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), your attorney cannot make decisions for you unless you have lost mental capacity. With a property and financial affairs LPA, your attorney can make decisions for you as soon as it is registered if you choose.
An attorney is someone who acts on behalf of another person. You can choose your attorneys. The attorney may be a member of your family, a friend or a professional person, like a solicitor or accountant.
