How a Lasting Power of Attorney gives you peace of mind 

Hundreds of thousands of people register Lasting Powers of Attorney each year and it isn’t hard to see why. 

Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last 50 years meaning most of us can expect to live into our eighties and beyond. While that is undoubtedly good news, it does raise issues about how we protect our interests and those of our loved ones as we get older and possibly lose the ability to make decisions for ourselves. 

The Covid pandemic has also given us cause to think about life’s fragility and the possible long-term effects of illness or injury. 

This is why Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) can be so helpful. 

An LPA is a legal document that you can draw up when you are fit and healthy, authorising someone you choose to make decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to do so yourself at some point in the future. 

The person drawing up the LPA is known as the donor and the person being authorised to make decisions is referred to as the attorney.  

The property and finance LPA allows you to appoint someone to look after your financial affairs, and the personal welfare LPA lets you grant an attorney authority over such matters as health care and the kind of treatment you receive.  

Both kinds of LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), which administers the system.  

LPAs are often used by older people to choose someone they know and trust to make decisions for them if they lose capacity in the future – but can be used by anyone at any age.  

They are easy to set up with the help of an expert solicitor and once registered, they provide you with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that if anything untoward should happen to impair your decision making, your interests will be looked after by someone you trust. 

It’s little wonder therefore that the number of registered LPAs has increased enormously in recent years to more than 4 million. 

Please contact us if you would like more information about Lasting Powers of Attorney.