Lasting Powers Of Attorney Solicitors Buckley and Shotton
Why go further than “Lasting Power of Attorney solicitors near me”?
Lasting Power of Attorney gives someone you trust the right to make important life decisions for you. This means you need to go further than a search for “Lasting Power of Attorney solicitors near me ” to make this kind of arrangement with confidence.
You may want to consider several key questions. Firstly, what exactly does Lasting Power of Attorney cover? When can you or should you set it up? How long does it need to “last”?
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For the answers to all these questions and more, read on:
What is Lasting Power of Attorney?
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a way of giving someone the legal right to make important decisions on your behalf. This person becomes known as your attorney.
- You can empower someone to act as your attorney temporarily – perhaps you are ill or injured in hospital.
- You might set up a longer-term arrangement if you become aware you may lose mental capacity in future (because of a diagnosis of a condition like dementia, for example).
- You may also give some Lasting Power of Attorney because you no longer wish to make decisions for yourself.
There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney
1) LPA for financial decisions
You can set up an LPA for financial decisions while you still have mental capacity and have it come into effect when you lose that capacity.
You can give your attorney the power to make all financial decisions on your behalf, or limit them to things like:
- Paying your mortgage or bills
- Buying, selling, and repairing property you own
- Investing money
It’s worth knowing that you can have your attorney provide details of how much money they are spending or how much money you have at any time. You can also have them send these details to someone else you trust, like your Lasting Power of Attorney solicitor or a family member.
To do this, your attorney has to keep their money separate from yours and maintain detailed records.
2) LPA for health and care decisions
You usually set up an LPA for health and care decisions to come into effect when you have lost mental capacity. Your attorney will be able to do things like:
- Decide on your medical care, including life-saving treatment
- Choose where you should live and what you eat
- Select who you can have contact with and the social activities you take part in
Obviously, these are intensely personal decisions that will directly affect your quality of life. This makes choosing the right person to be this kind of attorney potentially even more important.
Is it best to use a solicitor for Lasting Power of Attorney?
Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that hands over significant responsibilities to someone else. Their decisions will have a huge impact on your life, so ideally this will be someone you trust implicitly.
This means properly setting up and registering a Lasting Power of Attorney is vital. The best way to do this is by using a solicitor. The best and safest way is by using a solicitor you trust.
Again, an internet search for “LPA solicitors near me” is rarely enough here. If you haven’t used this solicitor before, it’s worth getting in touch to make sure you have the basis of a good working relationship.
Do you have to go to a solicitor for power of attorney?
Technically, no. You do not have to go to a solicitor to set up an LPA. You can simply apply via the official forms available from the Office of the Public Guardian.
That said, the importance of this kind of legal arrangement means it’s rarely the best choice to handle it yourself unless you have legal knowledge and experience. Whatever your situation may be, a solicitor will be able to advise you on options as to how to proceed.
Plus, using a solicitor to arrange LPA lets you take away some of the burden of what can be difficult and stressful decisions from your family or carers by writing a will and making your wishes clear.
Who is the best person to give power of attorney?
The most common choices to give power of attorney are a spouse, family member, or close friend.
However, it’s important to remember that you can give power of attorney to anyone who agrees to it. It’s not always about choosing the person you’re closest to. It’s the person you