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What is lasting power of attorney?

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney? 

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document which allows you to appoint someone that you trust as your ‘attorney’ to make decisions on your behalf when you no longer wish to or when you lack the mental capacity to do so.  Your attorney can be a friend, relative or a professional.

What ‘lacking mental capacity’ means

Someone can lack mental capacity if they have an injury, disorder or condition that affects the way their mind works. This could mean they have difficulty making decisions just some of the time or all of the time or, that it might take them a long time to make a decision.

The different types of Lasting Power of Attorney

There are two different types of Lasting Power of Attorney which deal with:

• Personal Welfare
• Property and Financial Affairs

Personal Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney  

A Personal Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to choose one or more people to make decisions on your behalf concerning such matters as where you will live and what medical treatment you may receive.

Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney

A Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney lets you choose one or more people to make decisions for you which could include decisions about paying bills or selling your home.  You can appoint someone as an attorney to look after your property and financial affairs at any time.  You can also include a condition that means the attorney can only make decisions when you lose the ability to do so yourself.  

The benefits of a Lasting Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney can help you plan how your health, wellbeing and financial affairs will be looked after. It allows you to plan in advance:

• the decisions you want to be made on your behalf if you lose capacity to make them yourself
• the people you want to  make these decisions, and
• how you want the people to make these decisions.

 To prevent fraud or misuse

Prior to your attorney being able to use your Lasting Power of Attorney:

• it has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian
• you must choose someone to provide a ‘certificate’ which means they confirm that you understand the significance and purpose of what you are agreeing to
• you must choose who gets told about your Lasting Power of Attorney when it is registered (so they can have an opportunity to raise concerns)
  Your signature and signatures of your chosen attorneys must be witnessed
• Your attorney(s) must follow the Code of Practice of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and act in your best interests

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