Covid-19 Has Made Lasting Powers Of Attorney More Important23rd Nov 2021
Covid-19 Has Triggered A Rise In Power of Attorneys
More families are taking out a Lasting Power of Attorney. The first six months of 2021 saw a a rise of 22% on the amount of LPAs arranged in the first six months of 2020
This continues to be a worrying time for everyone. Especially if you are caring for vulnerable loved ones.
Now they need your help more than ever. They need care and support; someone to help them overcome life’s day-to-day challenges.
Putting a lasting power of attorney in place can help you look after them if they can’t leave the house due to shielding or if we were to have another lockdown. So you can take better care of them – giving you and your family peace of mind.
You do not actually have to have lost capacity for an LPA to be used - the donor (person making the LPA) can allow the Attorney to assist them with their financial affairs before capacity is lost too (with their permission and ensuring always that they are acting in their best interests!)
This means that if the donor needed to shield or isolate or if we went into another full lockdown the attorney could assist with day to day transactions that the donor may not be able to do if they were confined to their house.
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Why You May Need Two Lasting Powers Of Attorney (LPA)
Lasting powers of attorney enable someone to nominate a loved one (or any other trusted individual) to take important decisions on their behalf. There are two types of LPA:
- Health and Welfare – which covers medical decisions
- Property and Financial Affairs – which covers your banking, investments, property and other money-related matters.
People usually set up powers of attorney because they are losing mental capacity and need someone to take decisions on their behalf.
That is because it is much quicker, easier and more cost effective to put LPAs in place before capacity is lost than it is to apply to the Court of Protection for decision-making powers afterwards.
But you can set up a Property and Financial Affairs LPA at any time. You don’t have to wait until there is an issue with mental capacity.
That means a trusted individual can take on the burden of looking after your finances if you are stuck at home and can’t get to your bank or building society due to lockdown (or any other reason , such as mobility issues).
Setting Up A Property And Financial Affairs LPA
Having a Property and Financial Affairs LPA is important if you are hospitalised for a long time. That is because your spouse would not have an automatic right to deal with your affairs.
People assume wrongly that their next of kin will be able to quickly step in during a crisis and sort out their finances. But banks, building societies, insurance companies and utilities won’t deal with anyone other than the named account-holder – unless there is an LPA in place.
That’s difficult enough when dealing with an insurance renewal or a utility bill. But it’s even harder when dealing with a bank. What if you can’t move money from one account to another to deal with an impending direct debit?
Setting up a Property and Financial Affairs LPA will solve that issue.
Find Out More About Lasting Powers Of Attorney
View this web page to find out more about:
- how powers of attorney can help you
- who decides when someone has lost mental capacity
- protecting your rights
- revoking a power of attorney or discharging a deputyship.
Why Coles Miller For Lasting Powers Of Attorneys
LPAs are a key area of expertise for our highly experienced team of wills and probate solicitors.
Tell us about the challenges you face and we will advise you how best to set up powers of attorney to suit your specific circumstances.
Get Expert Advice On Lasting Powers Of Attorney
Contact Coles Miller wills and probate solicitor Kerry Hay at our Poole office for more information about lasting powers of attorney.
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This document is not intended to constitute and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice on any specific matter. No liability for the accuracy of the content of this document, or the consequences of relying on it, is assumed by the author. If you seek further information, please contact Managing Partner Neil Andrews at Coles Miller Solicitors LLP.
