Why should you make a lasting power of attorney? What will happen if you make a lasting power of attorney compared to if you don’t? We hope to explain on this page why a lasting power of attorney is so important and why putting it off for another day is not a sensible thing to do.
Why You Should Make A Lasting Power Of Attorney Reason Number 1: Your Health
A lasting power of attorney can determine what should happen to you if your health deteriorates.
Whilst no one likes to think about this, wouldn’t you prefer that people knew what your wishes were if your health deteriorated rather than your loved ones, in a very difficult and stressful time, having to ‘second guess’ what you might have liked to happen?
A lasting power of attorney can cover a variety of issues relating to your health, including:
- Whether you should stay in your own home if your health deteriorates or be moved into a care home;
- Whether medical care should be provided for you or in which cases it should be refused; and
- Your day to day care, diet and routines.
Who else is better qualified to make these decisions than you?
This is one of the main reasons why you should make a lasting power of attorney.
Why You Should Make A Lasting Power Of Attorney Reason Number 2: Your Day To Day Finances
If you lose your mental or physical capacity at some time in the future, your lasting power of attorney can give someone the power to take care of your day to day finances.
Imagine if you lost capacity for several months. What would happen if no one could pay your bills? What stress would this put on your friends and family at a time that they are already suffering with the worry of your loss of capacity?
If no lasting power of attorney is in place and you lose capacity, friends or family have to make an application to The Court of Protection (England & Wales), The Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) or The Office of Care and Protection (Northern Ireland). In each case fees are payable and the application can take several months to be processed. Throughout this time your family, friends or relatives will have to try and keep on top of your finances with their own money, or contact all of the people to whom you owe money to explain what is happening. Your gas or electricity could be cut off, putting your property at risk and if your mortgage payments are not made you could even lose your home.
All of this can be avoided by making a lasting power of attorney sooner rather than later. Once it is made, you can forget about it and hopefully never need it. However, if it is needed, it is completed and ready to be used to ensure that the right decisions are made on your behalf.
Why You Should Make A Lasting Power Of Attorney Reason Number 3: Your Property
Should you lose your capacity and you need long term or permanent care, a lasting power of attorney will enable your attorneys to sell your home to pay for your care.
Clearly this would be the worst case scenario, but if you did lose your capacity for a long period of time or possibly permanently, the lasting power of attorney would allow your family to sell your home to pay for your care.
Imagine if there was a type of care that could restore your capacity but was not available on the NHS or in this country and required substantial funds to obtain it. With a lasting power of attorney your family would be in a position to decide to sell your home to fund this treatment.
Wouldn’t that be a good option for them to have?
Summary – Why Make A Lasting Power Of Attorney?
We believe that a lasting power of attorney is one of the most important legal documents that you can ever make during your lifetime. Therefore, it is a constant surprise when we discover how few people have a lasting power of attorney in place.
Protect your future today. Obtain a lasting power of attorney from a Solicitors Near Me UK Solicitor.
Make Your Free Lasting Power Of Attorney Enquiry Now
Simply either call us now on 0845 1391399 email us on hello@solicitorsnearmeuk.co.uk or complete a Free Online Enquiry.
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To be connected to a specialist solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry ».
