Lasting Powers of Attorney Explained: Protecting Your Decisions

There are certain legal documents that can make things a great deal easier if and when the unexpected happens. Most people know how important it is to make a Will, but not everyone considers how beneficial it can be to make sure you have a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place. 

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

 Powers of attorney are legal documents that allow you to grant authority to someone else to make certain decisions on your behalf. Though there are different types of power of attorney documents that can be used in different situations, the most well-known of these is the Lasting Power of Attorney, which is also known as an LPA.

An LPA is designed to protect you in the event that you lose mental capacity and become unable to make important decisions for yourself. This might be because you are temporarily unable to do this, perhaps due to a brain injury after a serious accident or during a severe mental health episode. Alternatively, it might be because you have become permanently unable to manage your own affairs due to a degenerative condition such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

In situations like these, if you had an LPA in place, then the person (or people) you had named as your attorney(s) would be able to make important decisions about your property, finances, healthcare and day-to-day living situation on your behalf.

The types of LPA explained

There are two types of LPA documents, and each allows your attorneys to make different decisions on your behalf.

Property and financial

A property and financial LPA allows your attorneys to make decisions on your behalf such as:

• Accessing bank accounts and paying bills.
• Dealing with mortgage payments or remortgaging.
• Property maintenance.
• Collecting benefits.
• Selling or renting property.
• Managing investments.
• Giving gifts.

When you make a property and financial LPA, it is possible to specify whether you would like your attorneys to be able to act on your behalf only when you have lost mental capacity or whenever you choose before that.

Health and welfare

A health and welfare LPA allows your attorneys to make decisions on your behalf such as:

• Whether you should move to a care facility.
• What type of care facility is right for you.
• Whether to consent to or refuse medical treatments.
• Whether or not to put a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order in place.
• Other aspects of your daily living, such as what you wear or eat.

If you make a health and welfare LPA, it can only be used once you have lost mental capacity and are no longer able to make these decisions yourself.

How flexible are LPAs?

There is a great deal of flexibility involved in making an LPA, and you will have the opportunity to decide which types of decisions you would like your attorneys to be able to make on your behalf, and which you wouldn’t.

It’s common to make both types of LPA at the same time, but this is not compulsory. If you do make both types of LPA, you can choose to have the same attorneys for both, or different attorneys.

Why get an LPA?

We have spoken to many people who don’t think they need to make a Lasting Power of Attorney because they believe their spouse or partner would be able to act on their behalf should it become necessary. Unfortunately, the law in the UK is not as clear cut as this.

For example, if you were admitted to hospital and were deemed to have lost mental capacity, it’s true that hospital staff would generally liaise with your close relatives about what they think your wishes for your care would be. However, without an LPA, the hospital would not be obliged to follow the directives of your relatives. Your relatives would also not have any power to deal with any financial or property issues on your behalf during this period.

In cases such as the example above, your close relatives would likely have to make an application to the Office of the Public Guardian to have the right to make important decisions on your behalf. This can be a complicated, stressful process, at a time that is likely to be complicated and stressful enough.

Taking the time to ensure you have an LPA in place long before you expect to need it can avoid difficult situations like these. Once you have made an LPA and it has been registered, it will be ready to use should it ever be needed.

Another major benefit of making an LPA is that it gives you far more control over the process. Not only would you be able to choose exactly which individual(s) can act on your behalf, you will also be able to set out what type of decisions you would like them to make for you, and any you would not.

Thinking about this well in advance of it becoming a necessity also gives you the luxury of time to discuss the plans you have made with your future attorneys, and to ensure they are well-briefed about your wishes.

Keeping your LPA up to date

Like any legal document, once you’ve made an LPA, it’s important to keep it up to date. We would recommend revisiting it every three to five years to ensure the document still fully reflects your wishes.

If you would like personalised advice on making an LPA for the first time or updating an existing LPA, please do get in touch.

You can read about making a Lasting Power of Attorney in more detail in our help guide.