While no one wishes to think they’ll be in a situation where they are unable to deal with their own financial affairs and health care decisions, it’s more common than you may think.
Sadly, many people are often left in a position whereby they have lost mental capacity and have no legal provisions in place to appoint someone to act on their behalf.
It’s a common misconception that a spouse or even the executor appointed in your will are automatically entitled to take up this role. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) when you have the mental capacity to do so can safeguard against these issues, allowing you to make a choice about who you wish to appoint as attorneys; the people who will deal with those decisions on your behalf.
A Property and Financial affairs LPA can, if you wish, be used as soon as it’s registered, meaning that even if you still have mental capacity, your attorneys can help you with any day-to-day assistance you may require.
Often, we see lots of scenarios where people have simply left it too late to make their LPA and an expensive and timely application to the Court of Protection must then be made for permission to deal with your affairs or those of your loved ones.
There has been a significant decrease in the number of LPA applications since the start of the pandemic, but making an LPA needn’t be onerous, even in such times.
Talk to one of our experts today and we’ll guide you through the process from start to finish.
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Enjoyed this? Read more from Jessica Turton, Alexander Grace Law