Who would you trust to make health and financial decisions on your behalf should you be unable to do so yourself? Without a Lasting Power of Attorney, these decisions will be made by a stranger – regardless of your relationship status.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) ensures that should you be unable to manage your own affairs, you have personally chosen trusted people to make these important decisions on your behalf. This will ensure that, as a vulnerable person, your affairs will be handled quickly and correctly which will save a great deal of time, money and distress.
There are two types of LPA:
A ‘Property and Financial Affairs’ LPA allows your trusted person to pay your bills, buy and sell your property and manage your bank accounts and investments.
A ‘Health and Welfare’ LPA covers decisions about your health and care – even deciding where you should live – if you are incapable of making such decisions yourself.
According to the Alzeimer’s Society, more that one million people in the UK will suffer from dementia by 2025. More than 1 in 5 people over the age of 85 already suffer from this, with rates significantly higher amongst women than in men.
Accidents, strokes, brain injuries and other degenerative brain conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease can also affect one’s ability to make decisions and handling your financial affairs might become impossible, which is why charities who care for the elderly recommend that everyone should plan ahead.
Risks of not having an LPA
Joint bank, building society and business accounts can be severely restricted if ONE of the account holders loses mental capacity and there is no registered LPA in place. In this case, your family would have to apply to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy to deal with your everyday financial matters. This is a slow and expensive process, costing thousands of pounds. If you need to involve a Lawyer, it could cost even more. With an LPA in place, this will not be necessary.
The British Bank Association states “If one joint account holder loses mental capacity, banks and building societies can decide whether or not to temporarily restrict the use of the account to essential transactions only”.
If your joint back account is frozen, how will your partner pay your mortgage, or your utilities bills or your car insurance? Restrictions on a joint account can have serious implications because the joint owner cannot freely withdraw their own money without an order from the Court of Protection.
Don’t put your loved ones through this. Make the decision today!
