Lasting Power of Attorney

 A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal form that allows you to choose someone else to manage your affairs on your behalf. The person that you can choose is known as an Attorney and can be a friend, a relative, or a professional. You can choose more than one person to act as an Attorney on your behalf.

Types of Lasting Power of Attorney

Property and Affairs

A Property and Affairs LPA gives powers to your chosen Attorney(s) to make decisions about financial and property matters for you, such as selling your house or managing your bank account. You may specify that your Attorney should only start managing your account when you lack the capacity sometime in the future. All Attorneys must and act in your best interests.

 

Health and Welfare

A Health and Welfare LPA gives powers to your chosen Attorney(s) to make decisions about your health and personal welfare, such as where you should live, day-to-day care or having medical treatment. This type of LPA only takes effect when you lack the capacity to make decisions. All Attorneys must act in your best interests.

Making the right choice

Your LPA is specific to you, allowing you to decide who will have the power to control your affairs and the precise limits of that power. For example, you might want an Attorney to make welfare decisions about your care but not make medical decisions on your behalf.

Being able to use the LPA

Registering the LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) will make the LPA ‘useable’ by the Attorneys . An LPA can be registered at any time. We can deal with the OPG on your behalf and register the documents for you.

The video opposite is a clip from BBC1's One Show and is a sad and very stark example of the problems that can arise without a Lasting Power of Attorney in place.

Contact us today for more details about Lasting Power of Attorney from our property law firm in Birmingham, in the West Midlands.