Winter is a time to think about your health – and that should include Power Of Attorney
Protect yourself with vital legal documents
Winter is fast approaching and with the risk of Covid and flu to consider, it’s important to focus on our health.An essential part of this is ensuring you have the protection of a Power of Attorney in place, says ILAWS Scotland.
The long-standing firm specialises in Power of Attorney (POA),Wills and estate planning. Tony Marchi, principal at ILAWS Scotland, says:“We’re coming into flu season. Now’s the time to be thinking about your health. Should something happen to you and you end up ill or in hospital unable to deal with things for yourself, that’s when the POA kicks in.Who do you want to make decisions? Do you want it to be a stranger in the hospital or your family? They’ll know your wishes better than anyone.”
A POA is an “essential legal document” that allows you to give authority to a trusted spouse, family member or friend to carry out financial or medical decisions on your behalf, when you are unable to through illness or incapacity.
It’s the first thing doctors will ask for if you become incapacitated, with next of kin no longer carrying the same authority it once used to. Having a POA in place could save precious time in an emergency situation, allowing your chosen representative to make medical decisions in a timely manner for you.
But there’s also a financial aspect to a POA that is also equally important when it comes to thinking about your future health, as well as the future wellbeing of your loved ones.
When we’re younger, we often think about the likes of life insurance to protect our partners and children should the worst happen.As we get older, things like pre-paying for funerals tend to become more important, especially if our debts decrease (for example, outstanding mortgages).This is all an important part of protecting the ones you’ll leave behind after your death – but have you also considered what will happen if you end up ill, in care or incapacitated by an injury long-term?
While a POA can ensure you receive the medical care you want in this case, it can also help lessen stress for the family around you.
Tony says:“If you’re with a partner or you have children, one of the worst things that can happen for them is that you’re incapacitated without a Power of Attorney.
“You might end up in care
Pensions can be taken away to pay for care if you are taken ill
and financially, if you have bank accounts, investment, shares or bonds, no one in the world can touch them except you, even if they’re needed. Even pensions can be taken away to pay for care. If you have savings in your name, you could potentially end up in care for say 10 years, and no one would have access to those savings.”
This also leaves your assets, like savings, pensions and anything financial in your name, unprotected.While a Will allows you to determine who should receive assets after your passing, a Will only comes into effect after your death. If you go into care and are incapacitated for many years without a POA, those assets will essentially be inaccessible to anyone else – but they could be at risk of being taken to pay for care home fees.
The good news is, you can set up a POA to mitigate the financial pressures of going into care or becoming incapacitated. This will work alongside your
Will to ensure your wishes are followed no matter what the future brings, as it will give you the absolute legal right to tell the authorities what should happen with your health and finances.
If health is a focus for you this winter then as well as looking after your wellbeing today, plan ahead with a POA. It could save your family and loved ones a lot of potential stress and worry further down the line, while giving you peace of mind in the present day, too.