In our previous blog, we talked about reasons why we believe that everyone should have a Lasting Power of Attorney or ‘LPA’ for short. In this blog, we explore some of the little-known facts/myths about LPAs.
Many people worry about giving up power over their affairs when they create an LPA. But it’s important to remember that Attorneys can’t act on the LPA until such time as you lose capacity.
Did you know that you can name replacement Attorneys in your LPA? It is common to appoint two Attorneys in an LPA but how do you know that those appointed will be able to act if and when the time comes? You can protect yourself from this eventuality by appointing two replacement Attorneys who will only be able to act if one of the first two appointed are unable to do so.
Many people are unaware that they can provide guidance in their LPA as to how they want their Attorneys to act. Although any guidance would not be legally binding, it could help to provide assistance to your Attorneys on how you would like your affairs to be dealt with. The sort of guidance that we have experienced clients putting in their LPAs includes:
- Whether they want to go in to care if necessary and what sort of care they would want;
- Whether they would like to be resuscitated;
- What they would like to happen to their assets e.g whether they can be sold or must be retained within the family;
- Types of investments they may want or would not want;
- Funeral requirements.
LPAs are not legally binding until they are registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. For more information about the Office of the Public Guardian, have a look at their website – https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-public-guardian/about
If you don’t have an LPA and you lose capacity, your family will not have the power to deal with your affairs unless they apply to the Court of Protection. Such applications are complex, time consuming and expensive. Having an LPA makes things a lot easier for your family.
Did you know that there is such a thing as a business LPA? We recommend that directors of businesses should consider making a business LPA to protect their families from being sued by co-directors and shareholders in the event that they as director lose capacity and cannot run the company.
Finally, many people do not know that the time to make an LPA is NOW. It can be difficult to understand why you need to make one when you are young, fit and healthy. But that is exactly the time to make one. If you get to the point where you have lost capacity, you would be unable to make an LPA.
At Sherrey and Associates, we advise all our clients to make an LPA as well as a Will for full protection and peace of mind for both themselves and their families. For more information about both our Will writing service and LPAs, please contact the office on Worcester 01905 349217 or Wolverhampton 01902 302969.