Having a Lasting Power of Attorney can be crucial if you lose your capability to make your own decisions, either due to an accident or age. Sarah Edmunds Legal can assist you in making an LPA and registering it with the court, which will give you and your family the peace of mind that your financial affairs and welfare are in good hands.

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

Lasting Powers of Attorney were introduced by the Mental Capacity Act in 2005 and enable one person to appoint another to make decisions about their property and financial affairs and/or the health and welfare, should the person appointing become incapable of making decisions for themselves. The person appointed is called an "Attorney”.

You can appoint more than one attorney and you can appoint a professional attorney if you wish. We do recommend you appoint at least one attorney who is not a professional attorney to avoid expensive bills when decisions need to be made for you.

Why make an LPA?

The most important reason for making an LPA is that, if you do lose your capability to make your own decisions, those decisions would be made by a court-appointed deputy. This has 2 disadvantages:

• The deputy will have little to no knowledge about you and your wishes, whereas a member of your family or close friend would have a better idea of your priorities and values and is more likely to ensure your wishes are followed.
• This can be VERY expensive, time-consuming and frustrating for your friends and family.

It is important to note that the Lasting Power of Attorney MUST be registered with the court for it to be used.

When do we lose capacity?

Losing one's ability to make decisions can be permanent or temporary. Much of the time this comes with age. However, it is commonly assumed that Lasting Powers of Attorney are just for the elderly. They are not! If you were 30 and running your own business and were involved in a car accident, you may well lose your capacity for a period of time. It is advisable to have a Lasting Power of Attorney to ensure that your business and personal affairs were dealt with in the interim without your business suffering.

We often hear from clients that they feel that, as their mother or father are very forgetful, they have probably already lost their capacity. Memory loss is not a sufficient enough ground for assuming that someone has lost their capability to make decisions for themselves.

Why not give us a call to see whether a Lasting Power of Attorney would be appropriate for you or a loved one?

Costs of an LPA

A Lasting Power of Attorney is likely to cost in the region of £500.00 plus VAT. This fee, however, includes a consultation (dependent on location) in the comfort of your own home to take your instructions and assumes that the document is registered with the court straight away.

We do offer a discount on those fees if you would rather visit us at our offices and/or if you do not wish for it to be registered immediately.

The court do also charge a registration fee.

If you chose to appoint us as your attorney, we would need to arrange for someone independent to meet with you to provide a certificate stating your understanding of document, which could attract another fee of up to £200.00 plus VAT. As such, we encourage our clients to only appoint us as a last resort!

What you need

In order for us to prepare your Lasting Power of Attorney, we would need you:

• To consider who you would like to appoint as your attorney(s). We will need their full name(s) and address(es).
• To consider whether there is anyone else you would like to be advised when the document is registered with the court. Again, we will need their full name(s) and address(es).
• To provide us with some identification documents - a valid UK passport or photocard driving licence and a utility bill/bank statement which is less than 3 months old.

If you have any queries at all about Lasting Powers of Attorney, if you would like to book an appointment or just have a general chat, please contact us whenever it is convenient with you.

What next?

• For more detailed information, including information about costs, please feel free to contact us
• Find out more about making a will
• Get more information about our residential conveyancing services