An LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney) is a legal document that allows you to appoint trusted individuals to make decisions on your behalf if you lose mental capacity.
Hopefully, you will never need to rely on your Power of Attorney. It ensures that your affairs will be managed according to your wishes by people you trust. Providing peace of mind should anything happen to you.
Most people think that they are immediately entitled to make decisions for their family. However, if you become incapacitated without an LPA your family members are not automatically authorised to make decisions for you.
They would need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your legal deputy. Which can be time-consuming, expensive, and still not guaranteed to result in them being appointed as your legal deputy.
The court alone will determine if the applicant is suitable for the role. The initial and ongoing annual costs could run into hundreds or thousands of pounds to maintain.
Unfortunately, you will not be able to make any decisions yourself since you won’t have the mental capacity to do so. Also, your family won’t be authorised to make the decisions until they are officially empowered to do so.
Registering your LPA allows you to plan for your future now at a manageable and reasonable cost.
Note that an LPA does not need to be permanent and can be cancelled if you no longer need it or want to make a new one. You would need to write to both your attorneys and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) informing them of this decision. This is explained here.
Remember that the LPA cannot be amended once it has been registered with OPG except under certain circumstances. If you wish to make changes it may mean having to revoke the existing LPA. This could result in starting the application process from the beginning.
Have a listen to what Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis had to say about the need for LPAs on national television.
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