40RTY reasons to...have power or attorney #1

Greetings to you dear reader.

Mr Owl, who is a friend of mine looked at the image below and asked 'Jules, what is a Power of Attorney?'. Well Mr Owl, below is the brief explanation I promised. I'll poost something with more detail soon.

An power of attorney or more commonly, Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a document giving legal power to one or more people (called your attorneys) to either help an individual (the donor) make decisions or actually make decisions on the donor's behalf if/when circumstances dictate.

Examples of why an LPA might be needed include:

* temporarily if one is laid up at home or you are in hospital;
* longer term, if one loses the capacity to be able to make your own decisions decisions

There are two types of LPA documents; each deals with a different aspect of a person's life. They are:

1. property and financial affairs LPA
2. health and welfare LPA

You can name the same attorney(s) for both types or have different people, it's your choice as the donor. A separate application must be made to the Office of the Public Guardian for each type of LPA.

N.B. an application cannot be made if the donor no longer has mental capacity as they cannot give their consent. I cannot stress enough that it is important not to wait; anticipate the future need and be proactive.

Typically, applications are made by:

* spouses;
* cohabitees;
* children for/with aging, elderly, poorly or vulnerable parents;

I've been through this process with my own family, that of friends and of course, with clients. If you want to know more or have decided to make an application and need guidance, I'd love to hear from you.

Have a very blessed day!

01727 576 117 - julesj@40rty.co.uk - www.40rty.co.uk

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