Lasting Power of Attorney

An LPA, is a legal document that lets you appoint one or more people to help you make decisions on either your Property and Financial affairs or your Health and Care decisions.

You may think an LPA is only for the elderly, here at Jane Brooks Law we would strongly disagree. Although, it is wise to put provisions in place for the elderly, it is even wiser to plan for the future now.

An example of when a Lasting Power of Attorney may be helpful is described below:

Kevin Smith lived with his girlfriend Susan Wright of 4 years and his child, Lola. Kevin was a keen snowboarder and enjoyed visiting Verbier in Switzerland at least once per year with his friends. Kevin unfortunately had an accident whilst in Verbier and suffered an injury to his brain, leaving him with minimal speech and little cognitive ability. Upon his return to the UK, Susan suffered a whole range of difficulties in respect of making decisions on his care and on dealing with his property. As a result, Susan had to apply through the Court of Protection and underwent a significant, costly process to be given authority to deal with his affairs.  Moreover, as Kevin’s health declined, although there had been conversations in respect of his wishes in regards to resuscitation, Susan was unable to make the decision in accordance with Kevin’s wishes without the Court of Protection intervention.

An LPA can record your wishes whilst you have capacity. There are safeguards to prevent an abuse of power and are helpful in the event you lose capacity or even before.

If you would like to make an appointment with one of our Solicitors, please contact us.