Powers of Attorney

Whilst we know about the importance of Wills, very few people think about what would happen if, during their lifetime, they were ill and not able to manage their financial affairs or make decisions about their health.
When it comes to managing your financial affairs, if you are not able to speak personally to banks, utility companies – or any organisation that holds details about you, then your financial life could come grinding to a halt.
Even if you are married or in a Civil Partnership, your spouse or partner has no legal right to discuss your personal finances without your permission. Worse still, they could be left vulnerable and possibly short of money themselves. A costly and lengthy process would then ensue, so that your loved ones could step in and help.
In order to avoid this, it is vital that you consider setting up Lasting Powers of Attorney, commonly called LPAs.
An LPA is a legal document that allows you to choose someone now (or more than one person - the Attorney/s) that you trust to make decisions on your behalf about things such as your property and financial affairs or health and welfare, at a time in the future when you no longer wish to, or may lack the mental capacity to, make those decisions.

There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA)
- A Property and Financial Affairs LPA is for decisions about finances, such as managing their bank account or dealing with official bodies; and...
- A Health and Welfare LPA is for decisions about both health and personal welfare, such as where to live, day-to-day care or having medical treatment.
Setting these documents up now and then putting them aside until they might be needed gives you and your family peace of mind. Should a disaster occur or difficult decisions need to be made regarding your health, then the right people have been appointed by you to act on your behalf and with your best interests at heart.
We would always advise clients to have both Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) to give themselves the peace of mind.
The only time we may advise putting only a Health & Welfare LPA into place is if the client has already previously made an Enduring Power of Attorney which will only allow financial decisions to be made by the Attorneys or a Property & Financial Affairs LPA .