One person in the UK develops dementia every three minutes. Yet relatives can’t just walk into a bank and access your money, even if it is to pay for your care. Unless you’ve a Power of Attorney, loved ones would need to apply through court, which can be long and costly.
While every effort’s been made to ensure this article’s accuracy, it doesn’t constitute legal advice tailored to your individual circumstances. If you act on it, you acknowledge that you do so at your own risk. We can’t assume responsibility and don’t accept liability for any damage or loss which may arise as a result of your reliance upon it. This guide has been written with the kind help of the Alzheimer’s Society and Age UK.
What is Lasting Power of Attorney?
Thinking and talking about what would happen if our faculties deserted us is uncomfortable. Yet it’s important to consider how much worse the situation would be if you had a stroke, serious accident or dementia (for example, Alzheimer’s) without sorting it first.
If someone has difficulties that mean they can’t make decisions anymore, they will need help managing their finances. A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document where someone – while they still have mental capacity – nominates a trusted friend or relative to look after their affairs if they later lost capacity. The key point to remember…
Don’t think you suddenly give up control. You can choose whether it can be used either before, or only when, you lose mental capacity.
Your representative (known as the ‘attorney’) should only ever make a choice for you if you’re unable to make that specific decision at the time it needs to be made. For example, if you fall into a coma, your attorney would start looking after your affairs. But if you wake from the coma, you should be able to make your own decisions again.
It’s worth noting LPAs replaced the previous Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) system. EPAs set up before 1 October 2007 will still be valid, whether or not they have been registered, though they must be registered when the person loses capacity. For more, see the Government’s EPA info.
Why set up a Lasting Power of Attorney?
If you lose mental capacity, unless you’ve already filled in the Power of Attorney forms, your loved ones will need to apply through court to become ‘deputy’, a long and expensive process.
Instead, you can nominate a trusted friend or relative before you lose capacity, by setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). You can appoint one or more representatives to act for you, and can determine how they work together to make decisions on your behalf.
You may be thinking “this doesn’t affect us, we’re perfectly well”. This is a common misunderstanding. The key thing to remember is…
You can only set up a Lasting Power of Attorney when you have mental capacity. Once you’ve lost capacity, it’s too late.
The key is to act early. This story from Forumite Norma Desmond explains why:
My mum is deputy (via the Court of Protection) to my dad, who has advanced dementia. It’s a very long, drawn out and quite intrusive process.
It’s also expensive. Mum will have to pay hefty yearly fees too. I just wish we’d managed to get Power of Attorney instead, when Dad was more capable. He got ill very fast and we couldn’t implement it.
- Jenny Keefe & Martin Lewis – MoneySavingExpert.com
