Planning for the Future

How would your loved ones cope if during your lifetime you had a serious accident or suffered from a serious illness that left you physically or mentally impaired? It is a scenario that many of us never really wish to consider, but there are things you can do to make the position a little easier if this were ever to happen.

Appointing an attorney to act on your behalf is a good way of ensuring that your own interests, be they financial and/or personal, are seen to and that someone you trust is able to assist you if you were to fall ill or be unable to deal with your affairs for a reasonable period of time. Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) were introduced on the 1st October 2007 to replace Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA). The new LPAs go one step further than the EPAs, as not only do they allow you to appoint someone to act on your behalf in relation to your property and affairs, but you can also appoint someone to make personal welfare decisions for you, their powers could include consenting to or refusing life-sustaining medical treatment for you. This is a significant change to the previous procedures and one that is seen positively by many clients.

Unlike EPAs, the new LPAs are lengthy documents and need to be registered with the Court before your attorney(s) can act on your behalf. This can be a difficult and daunting task, however our specialist department can take the burden out of doing this for you and deal with specific queries you may have. We can make you an appointment to go through all of your requirements and explain how the new law operates. Our costs in dealing with an LPA start at just £300 – please contact us to discuss matters further at any time.