There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), Property and Financial and Health and Welfare.
These documents, once registered with the Office of Public Guardian (OPG) give a person or people (the attorneys) the power to make decisions on your behalf or that of another person (the donor).
The Property and Financial LPA is valid upon registration and can be used when the donor still has capacity (or if they have lost capacity) they enable the attorney to legally access bank and financial accounts, claim benefits, buy or sell property and deal with all other affairs relating to property and finance, this can be particularly important if two signatures are required for transfer of property deeds and one of the tenants has lost capacity.
The Health and Welfare LPA covers decisions regarding the donor’s personal welfare and health. It can only come into effect once the donor has lost capacity and the attorney will then be able to make decisions on where the donor is living, day to day care and arrange medical care for the donor, they will also have been given permission to consent or refuse to any medical treatment.
Why make an LPA?
If capacity is lost and there are no LPA’s in place, family or friends will have to apply to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship to make decisions on the donor’s behalf, this can be both costly and time consuming.
Having an LPA drafted when you have capacity enables the donor to make their own decisions on future health care, financial decisions and more importantly who they wish to make these decisions for them, there are also safeguards in place once an LPA has been registered with the OPG to ensure that the attorneys always act in the best interest of the donor and follow the instructions given in the LPA that the donor has requested, in addition the LPA’s are governed by the Mental Capacity Act 2005.