The current climate around COVID-19 has triggered many of our clients to bring their finances and medical care into sharper focus. As a result, we’ve witnessed an increased interest from clients in ensuring they have a Lasting Power Of Attorney (LPA) in place.
What is an LPA?
An LPA is a legal document that gives you more control over what happens to you if you have an accident or illness and cannot make your own decisions and enables you to choose in advance who should help you make decisions or make decisions on your behalf if ever needed.
There are 2 types of LPAs:
LPAs can cover your personal financial affairs. For example, managing your bank accounts, paying your bills, and selling properties.
You can also have LPAs in place for health and medical decisions including your medical care, moving into a care home and life-sustaining treatment.
Why should you have an LPA?
There is a common misconception that if you are married or in a civil partnership, your spouse would automatically be able to deal with your bank account and finances and make decisions about your healthcare if you lose the ability to do so.
However, this is not the case, and without an LPA they won’t have the authority to act on your behalf. Instead, if you lose mental capacity without an LPA in place, your loved ones will need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed to manage your affairs.
This can be costly and time-consuming, often taking several months before anyone can deal with your affairs, which can put additional financial and emotional stress on your loved ones during what is already a very difficult time.
Having LPAs in place means that you can choose who can act on your behalf and gives you peace of mind that if you lose mental capacity the people you trust will be able to take over right away.
How can TC help?
If you would like more information about LPAs or if you would like us to prepare LPA documents for you and your family, please email privateclients@tc-group.com or call our Private Client Team on 0330 088 711.