Lasting Powers of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to appoint someone (usually a family member) to be able to make decisions on your behalf should you lose capacity. There are two type of Lasting Power of Attorney:

1. Property and Financial Affairs. This allows your attorney to manage your financial affairs should you lose capacity;

2. Health and Welfare. This enables your attorney to make decisions regarding medical matters and your care when you no longer have capacity to make such decisions yourself.

Whilst not a subject that most of us want to contemplate, unfortunately none of us can guarantee that we will remain mentally capable for the rest of our lives. As we grow older the more likely this is to happen, but equally an incapacitating illness or accident could hit any of us without warning at any time.

If you lose your ability to make decisions, but do not have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place then it can be very difficult for your loved ones to deal with your finances and healthcare decisions. Ultimately, this could mean that they would need to apply to the Court of Protection to be nominated to act on your behalf, but this is a costly and sometimes complex process at what is often a difficult time.

Here at Waller Needham & Green we have extensive experience of dealing with Lasting Powers of Attorney. We are therefore able to guide you through the process to make sure that if you do lose your capacity to make decisions then the individuals you want will be able to make decisions on your behalf in your best interests.

Key Staff

Martin Trayford

Chris Waller

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