Lasting Power of Attorney - importance

May I suggest that you give this some serious thought for those that you will have to support in their later days and give it some thought for yourself too! Even if you think ‘bad things only happen to others’ - there are no rules governing who will have misfortune, so why not take a simple and fairly low cost precaution now.

A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that lets you appoint people to make decisions on your behalf. It could be used if you become unable to make your own decisions, maybe as the result of a health issue or an accident.

There are 2 types of lasting power of attorney:

* health and welfare

* property and financial affairs

You can choose to make one or both.

Health and welfare lasting power of attorney - This allows you to choose one person or more to make decisions about things like:

* your daily routine (eg eating and what to wear)

* medical care

* moving into a care home

* life-sustaining treatment

This type of lasting power of attorney can only be used when you’re unable to make your own decisions.

Property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney - This lets you choose one person or more to make decisions about money and property for you, eg:

* paying bills

* collecting benefits

* selling your home

This type of lasting power of attorney can be used as soon as it’s registered, with your permission.

If you want to know more, go to https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney for more information and to review all the relevant documentation. You can apply without the need of a solicitor but for relatively little more, a solicitor will ensure that the documentation is correctly completed and registered thus reducing the chances of anything being contested in the future.