When is the right time to prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney and who should I appoint?

When is the right time to prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney and who should I appoint?

Many of us face challenges and unexpected life events at one time or another and it is always best to prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney as early on as possible. Preparing a Lasting Power of Attorney early can avoid problems in the future and give you and your loved ones peace of mind.

The simplest way to prepare for the future is to prepare Lasting Powers of Attorney for decisions relating to your property and financial affairs; and decisions relating to health and care.

A Lasting Power of Attorney will enable your loved ones to assist you when needed. If you are no longer able to make decisions yourself (or just need help with managing your affairs), without a Lasting Power of Attorney in place your family will need to apply for a Deputyship Order which can be a stressful, expensive and lengthy process.

The Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs enables your Attorneys to assist you with your finances with your consent whilst you have capacity to make decisions yourself (and if you do not have capacity to do so), whereas a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Care can only be used by an Attorney once you have lost capacity and are unable to make decisions yourself.

The key thing to remember is that a Lasting Power of Attorney can only be prepared whilst you have capacity; and so, it is always best to get these prepared now to avoid the need to apply for a Deputyship Order.

Who should I appoint as my attorneys?

You can choose friends, family, loved ones or even professionals, such as a solicitor, to act as your Attorney. However, professionals normally will only act as an attorney in connection with matters relating to your property and financial affairs.

When appointing attorneys, you need to consider whether or not you want them to act jointly or severally. In making this decision you need to consider their relationship to each other, their proximity to one another and whether you would be happy for any of them to assist you individually.

Replacement attorneys can also be appointed. The role of a replacement attorney is to step in when your attorneys are unable or unwilling to act.

It is important to note that if you only appoint one attorney without any replacement attorneys and your sole attorney dies or is unwilling or unable to assist you then your Lasting Power of Attorney will become unusable.

Contact us

If you’d like to set up an LPA, don’t hesitate to reach out to Rix & Kay’s Private Client team, where they’ll be more than happy to assist you with ensuring you’re prepared for the future.