Which? Survey- Your Lasting Power Of Attorney Questions Answered

• Published date: 28 March 2022
• Subject Matter: Family and Matrimonial, Wills/ Intestacy/ Estate Planning
• Law Firm: Ellis Jones
• Author: Rosemary Drew

A recent Which? survey of 2,000 UK residents showed that only one in seven people have Powers of Attorney in place. Which? believe that this is partly due to lack of awareness among the public about Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs). With this is mind, I would like to answer some of the questions I commonly get asked by clients which hopefully highlight how necessary it is to have LPAs in place.

1. Why are Lasting Powers of Attorney so important?

Without a property and financial affairs LPA in place, no one (not even a spouse) can access your finances without going to court. This type of LPA allows you to pick people that you trust to look after your finances if you lose capacity (or if your LPA is set up in a certain way, before you lose capacity if you ask them too).

A health and welfare LPA is just as important because it allows you to handpick the people that will make medical decision on your behalf after you have lost capacity. You can then ensure that those people are aware of your wishes and can act as you would if you were able to make medical decisions yourself.

2. If I make an LPA, does that mean my Attorneys can say I am not able to deal with my

finances and start making decisions for me?

No, there are a number of safeguarding processes that our Firm put in place so you can be confident that this will not happen.

We would usually store your original property and financial affairs LPA for you and we would not release the original document or a certified copy to an Attorney without your consent or a capacity report carried out by a doctor which clearly states that you no longer have capacity.

As your Attorney's will need the original LPA or a certified copy to show to banks or other institutions before they can start acting for you, you can be certain that your Attorneys will not be able to act whilst you have capacity without your consent.

3. What sorts of decisions can my Attorneys make for me?

If you have a property and financial affairs...