26 February 2010

 

By Clare Railton, solicitor, Private Client Services

 

On a recent segment of ‘The One Show’ Dominic Littlewood drew attention to some of the risks associated with not having a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

 

LPAs were introduced to try and overcome the abuse of power by attorneys under an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA). But while you can no longer create an EPA, provided it was signed prior to 1 October 2007 it will still be effective.

 

An LPA allows you to plan ahead to protect your assets by appointing someone of your choice to act as your attorney for such a time in the future when you may not be able to deal with things yourself.  It is the only legal document you can now use to appoint someone to deal with your property and affairs (and health and welfare) under any circumstances, including loss of mental capacity.

 

Many people assume that an LPA is for someone over a certain age and relate them to being used when someone is suffering from an illness associated with old age. However, as the main example on ‘The One Show’ illustrated you never know at what age you may lose mental capacity. Dominic Littlewood met Heather, whose husband had been involved in an accident which left him in a coma for three years. Although they had both created Wills neither of them had considered creating an LPA, leaving Heather to battle for the right to manage his affairs and a large legal bill at the end of it.

 

Everyone owns some kind of assets, whether it's just a small amount of savings in a bank account or a huge business empire. Have you ever thought who would deal with such assets, regardless of their size, if you were unable to do so yourself? No one, not even your spouse or business partner has the automatic right to deal with your assets if you lose mental capacity.

 

If you would like more information about why an LPA is right for you, contact us for an appointment.