Don’t wait until it’s too late- take action now.
When you give power of attorney to someone you trust, they will be able to manage your affairs for you, should you become unable to do so.
It’s never too soon to set one up- because you never know when you might need someone to help you in this way. When that time comes, things often happen very quickly.
Choose someone you trust
The person you choose as your power of attorney can be a relative, friend or someone in a professional capacity, It’s vital that it’s someone you trust.
If you choose someone in a professional capacity, bear in mind that they will charge a fee each time they act on your behalf.
Pursuing NHS Continuing Healthcare
If you’re receiving full time care and you believe you’re being wrongly forced to pay for that care, you will almost certainly need someone to help you challenge that decision and pursue NHS Continuing Healthcare funding to cover your care fees. If the person helping you has a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), it makes it much easier.
Mental capacity
It’s important to bear in mind that once you lack the mental capacity to make safe decisions for yourself, you can no longer set up an LPA. That’s why it’s vital to do it now.
If you lose mental capacity and you haven’t appointed someone to be your power of attorney, one of your relatives or friends would then have to contact the Office of the Public Guardian. The Court of Protection would then go through a process of appointing a Deputy to manage your affairs. However, this takes time and can be expensive.
The Deputy could be a member of your family or, if you don’t have any willing relatives, it could be a solicitor. In this case your savings would be used to pay for their services. It’s much better- and much kinder to your family- if you set up an LPA now, while you still can.
Do it now
There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney:
- Property and financial affairs
- Health and welfare
Many people say that they’ll wait until they need one before setting one up. This is a BIG mistake. By the time you need one, it’s often too late. And even if a power of attorney can be set up, your relatives’ hands will be tied- and they’ll be unable to protect your interests- until the power can be processed and registered (usually several months). In the meantime, decisions are likely to be made for you by people you don’t know.
Do it now. Having a power of attorney set up and ready to use makes no difference to your day-to-day life now. But once you have set one up, it can be used the moment you need, with no delays. This is vital.
Contributor: Linda Fisher
1 August 2019
The views expressed in this blog do not in any way constitute advice and are specific to the date noted. As time passes the facts can change and readers should consult their adviser for up to date advice on any matters covered within the blog. Invest Southwest offers an initial review, which is free of charge, however long it takes. From this we will be able to confirm how we can help and give you an opportunity to decide if you would like us to. Thereafter, we will provide you with detailed recommendations and exact costs. Please note that we promise not to levy any kind of fee unless we can demonstrate a benefit to you.
