This is a document in which you give authority to somebody else (the Attorney) the ability to make decisions on your behalf.

Unlike an ordinary Power of Attorney, a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) remains in force even if you become incapable of making your own decisions.

There are two types of LPA and you can enter into either or both of them.

The Property and Affairs LPA gives your Attorney the power to deal with your property and financial affairs. These powers can be wide ranging and could include, for instance, collecting your pension or other benefits, dealing with your banking arrangements, paying bills, completing tax returns, making gifts and even buying and selling property.

A Personal Welfare LPA gives your Attorney powers to handle on your behalf, for instance, the move into residential nursing care, to make decisions regarding your medical treatment and even, if you choose, the power to give consent or to refuse life sustaining treatment on your behalf.

You can choose any person to be your Attorney and, if you wish, you can appoint more than one Attorney to act on your behalf. People often choose their spouse, children or close relatives or friends but it is also possible to choose a professional person such as a solicitor.

As an LPA is such an important document, a suitably qualified independent person must complete a certificate verifying that you understand the nature and scope of the LPA that has been created. This certificate is a vital part of the document.

Once the LPA has been executed by the donor of the Power and the Attorney or Attorneys, the next step is to have the document registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. The registration period is 6 weeks though depending on the volume of the work being handled by the Office of the Public Guardian, it can take in excess of 10 weeks for the registration process to be concluded.

Any person can create an LPA provided they have the necessary mental capacity and understand fully the nature and effect of the document.

Although an LPA can be entered into by a person of any age, it is perhaps particularly helpful for the elderly and infirm people who are, or who are becoming, increasingly dependent on family members for assistance.

One of the key advantages of having an LPA in place for Property and Financial Affairs is that in the event of the loss of mental capacity, the Attorney can deal with matters without having to have recourse to the Court of Protection and the expense and inconvenience that can potentially cause.

At QualitySolicitors Oliver & Co we have experience of the creation of both forms of Lasting Powers of Attorney and, as solicitors, we are in a position to provide the requisite certificate. We appreciate that in some cases Lasting Powers of Attorney are being created by people who may find attending an office appointment difficult or daunting and we are therefore happy to provide this service based on seeing clients at their home if that is preferred.