How much have you thought about getting a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), if at all?
This September 21st marks World Alzheimer’s Day. Here at Heritage Estate Planning, we want to draw some of the conversation towards the importance of a lasting power of attorney.
Additionally, with the 2024 campaign for World Alzheimer’s Day being ‘Time to act on dementia, Time to act on Alzheimer’s’, it highlights the need to take proactive action and act, before it’s too late.
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that empowers you to appoint the people you trust to make significant decisions on your behalf.
These decisions can include medical treatments or procedures, where you receive care, or even which medical professionals you can see. From a financial point of view, it enables your attorney to handle any property decisions. This also includes everyday items like collecting benefits and pensions, and paying bills.
You can choose anyone to be your Attorney, as long as they are over 18. You should consider choosing someone you know, and someone you trust to make the right decisions on your behalf and act in your best interests.
Ultimately, a lasting power of attorney gives you a voice, even if you no longer have one.
Why do you need to be proactive?
Do you know what it means to ‘lose capacity’? Capacity is the “ability to use and understand information to make a decision, and communicate any decision made” (source: NHS).
So if someone loses capacity, or lacks capacity, it means they are unable to communicate decisions or make decisions for themselves. They may not understand the information about the decisions they’re making, or adequately use that information to make a decision. This could be the result of dementia, a mental illness, brain damage, or other conditions.
In line with the 2024 theme for World Alzheimer’s Day, it’s time to act now. A lasting power of attorney will protect you if you lose capacity, and empowers you to have some control over your decisions. It’s not nice to think about, but it is an unpleasant necessity.
What happens if you don’t have a Lasting Power of Attorney?
Without a lasting power of attorney, no one has the legal authority to make decisions for you. Even a next of kin has no automatic right to manage affairs. Additionally, you are only able to make a LPA whilst you have capacity, let alone to make the decisions.
Consequently, people you don’t know could end up making important decisions for you. These could go against your own wishes, and end up impacting your loved ones too. The alternative to a LPA is that your friends and family would have to go to court, to be able to make those decisions. This can be a lengthy and expensive process.
The best thing to do is to take proactive action and create a lasting power of attorney as soon as you can.
A note from our Managing Director, Ally:
“In many cases, having a Lasting Power of Attorney is even more important than making a will as it’s all about how you are treated as a human being during your lifetime. It provides the opportunity for you to appoint people you trust to be ‘your voice’ if you are later unable to make decisions for yourself.
We have seen situations where we are approached to draw LPAs up, but it’s too late because the family member has lost capacity. It’s heartbreaking and so difficult as the only route left is to apply to the Court to become a Deputy which is expensive, complicated and takes a very long time.’’
Take action and get started today. If you’re interested in learning more about lasting power of attorney, feel free to get in touch in the following ways:
- Give us a call
- Ask us a question via the contact form at the bottom of Lasting Power of Attorney
- Book an appointment
Gain peace of mind over your future with Heritage Estate Planning.
