Why should I make a Lasting Power of Attorney?

Making a Lasting Power of Attorney is something that all adults should consider, quite often people think that because they don’t have lots of assets or they are still mentally capable then they don’t need to worry about it.  However, if you were to become ill and capacity was lost then your bank accounts etc would be frozen and your family would not be able to gain access to them.  Losing capacity isn’t necessarily a gradual event, sudden loss of capacity is relatively common and can result from a head injury or an event such as a stroke, in these situations there is no time to put a Power of Attorney in place before it is too late.  Even in cases were memory or capacity is lost over a period of time, for example as a result of dementia, quite often the signs are not recognised until it is too late to give Power to someone.

By making a Lasting Power of Attorney you can ensure that the people you choose can look after your affairs should you become unable.   A Property and Finance Power of Attorney gives your chosen Attorneys the power to be able to deal with your financial affairs if the need arises, ensuring that bills are paid and that money is available for your needs.  You can also make a Health & Welfare Power which gives your Attorneys the power to be able to make decisions about your personal welfare, for example your care and treatment and where you would live should you be unable to make these decisions yourself.  Furthermore, you can give your Attorneys the power to be able to accept or reject life sustaining treatment on your behalf, this would include for example withdrawal of life support or signing a DNR (do not resuscitate) Order.

Should you lose capacity without having a Power of Attorney in place then an application to the Court of Protection would have to be made for someone to be appointed as a Deputy to act on your behalf in relation to your finances.  However, the process of applying through the Court to be appointed is both very drawn-out and costly.  Once an Order has been obtained from the Court the Deputy appointed they would then be supervised by the Court and would be required to provide a yearly report and pay a supervision fee to the Court.