Lasting Power of Attorney in Waltham Abbey

Lasting Power of Attorney – Property Affairs and Personal Welfare

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to appoint a trusted family member or friend to make decisions about your financial matters or your health and welfare when you are unable to do so, whether that be because of loss of mental capacity due to dementia or a physical injury. At Kayson Solicitors we can provide expert advice tailored to your circumstances.

There are two different types of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA):

• LPA for Property and Financial Affairs: Decisions regarding property and money.
• LPA for Health and Welfare: Decisions regarding your health and personal welfare.

Appointing someone as your Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs allows them to manage your assets should you lose the ability to make decisions for yourself through illness or injury. This is incredibly important since the law states that without a LPA your assets (bank accounts and so on) may be frozen if you lose mental capacity or suffer a life-threatening physical injury, restricting your loved one’s access.

You can appoint more than one Attorney and it is possible to have difference Attorneys for the different Powers. You can also leave instruction and preferences for your Attorneys to guide them when making decisions regarding your assets and care. Appointing an Attorney is important as even your spouse would not be able to access your assets if they are frozen.

A Lasting Power of Attorney that deals with your personal welfare works in a very similar way ie you appoint someone you trust to make decisions about your health and personal welfare if you are unable to make them for yourself. The Power of Attorney can help with decisions such as life sustaining treatments and the type of care you might receive.

If you lose the ability to make decisions for yourself without having created an LPA, your loved ones would have to go to court and request to be appointed as a Deputy to administer your affairs. This is a very long, complex and expensive process.

At Kayson Solicitors we can guide you through every aspect of creating these incredibly important documents to ensure that you and your family are fully protected .