Sorting out a POWER OF ATTORNEY
‘In simple terms, a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is there to protect your wishes while you’re alive, and a will is there to protect your wishes after you’ve died,’ explains James Antoniou. An LPA is a legal document that allows you to choose people you trust (your attorneys) to make decisions about your health and your finances when you’re unable to make them yourself, perhaps as the result of ill health or an accident.
You might think, okay, if that ever happens to me in the future, I’ll sort out my LPA then. ‘The problem here is that you can’t make an LPA then; it’s too late,’ James explains. ‘Without it, no one has the legal authority to deal with your affairs, not even your spouse, partner or child – yet this information normally comes as a surprise to people,’ he says. The idea that bills couldn’t be paid and your bank accounts couldn’t be accessed, especially when you’re at your most vulnerable, is certainly shocking. Yet every year, thousands of families have no choice but to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed their loved one’s deputy – a long and expensive process that can easily be avoided by having your LPA in place. This was the gut-wrenching feeling I experienced when my husband was rushed to hospital a few years ago after suddenly becoming very ill. Fortunately, things turned out to be less serious than the doctors initially feared. We resolved there and then to get our LPAS sorted – but our motivation was subsequently destroyed by the level of paperwork required.
THE FIX My husband and I needed to set up two different LPAS; one for financial decisions, and one for health and care decisions. This meant completing forms online via the Gov.uk website, printing them off and signing before submitting them by post (there’s an £82 registration fee for each form, but it’s free for people on means-tested benefits and there’s a 50% discount for people who earn under £12,000 a year). We were happy to act as the other’s attorney, but we also recognised that it was wise to appoint a back-up attorney who was likely to outlive both of us.
The final step was finding a ‘certificate provider’ to countersign our paperwork before we posted it off – this could either be a professional, such as a solicitor or a GP, or an independent person (not a relative) who had known both of us for two years and could confirm we were making our LPAS of our own free will.
Having faffed around for far too long trying to do this ourselves, we’ve decided to use the same solicitor who helped us to update our wills to sort out our LPAS. Given the complications that could result from unintentional mistakes in such crucial documents, paying for professional advice is something I’m happy to invest in – and I’d argue the greater the value of your assets, the truer this statement will be. Expect to pay a few hundred pounds plus registration fees for a basic service, or more for a fully advised one. Assuming there are no mistakes, it will then take 20 weeks or more for our LPAS to be made official.
TIME TAKEN A couple of hours for the discussion, paperwork and signatures.
MONEY SPENT £600 in total, including registration fees.
GH TIP Consider appointing replacement attorneys in your LPA. In the event that your attorney dies before you or is unable to act when the time comes, this will keep you protected.