Choosing who will act
A Lasting Power of Attorney is an important document and you should take great care in choosing your Attorneys. They should be trustworthy and have the appropriate skills to make the decisions that you are entrusting to them. You can appoint more than one Attorney and must decide whether they must all act together, or whether they can act separately. You can also appoint replacement Attorneys should an Attorney die or no longer be able to act.
Special care needs to be taken when making these decisions and setting up the Lasting Powers of Attorney to ensure the documents work as you wish. There are restrictions on the amendments that can be made at a later date.
How do I put a Power of Attorney in place?
There are formalities to be followed when creating Lasting Powers of Attorney and they must be signed by you and your Attorney and witnessed in a particular order. In addition, someone else must certify that you understand the nature and scope of the Lasting Power of Attorney and that you have not been unduly pressured into making the power. Our team can advise you on matters to consider and additional powers or instructions to include. This often requires specialist wording, depending on your particular circumstances and wishes.
The Lasting Power of Attorney must be registered with the Office of Public Guardian before it can be used. A Property & Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney can be used (at your direction) before you lose the mental ability to deal with your own finances or if you lack the capacity to make financial decision yourself. A Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney can only be used if you lack mental capacity to make welfare or medical decisions for yourself.
Existing Enduring Powers of Attorney made before 1 October 2007 will continue to be valid. They will only apply to your property and affairs. If you wish someone to be able to make decisions regarding your health treatment, welfare matters and even being cared for at home or in residential care, you will need to make a Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney.