In future you might need someone to make decisions for you or act on your behalf for a number of reasons, your age should not be a reason to leave off creating a Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”).
Arguably the only reason to insist why you should have your LPA written up now is the fact of life: will you have capacity to do so tomorrow? You need not hit a milestone in age, finances or possessions before you instruct an LPA to carry out your wishes, whilst you still can.
This important legal document allows you to choose another individual(s) to make decisions about your estate and your health and welfare on your behalf if you are unable to make them yourself. Setting up an LPA is a significant step to ensure that you and your family have peace of mind and protection in the future.
Why you need to arrange your LPA now?
You can only arrange your LPA whilst you retain mental capacity to do so. That means you should do it before illness, an accident or diminished mental capacity makes you unable to.
Leave it too late and your wishes may not be reflected the way you want them to.
Not having an LPA in place can make it very difficult for your loved ones to automatically look after your financial affairs and the Court will have to appoint someone to manage your finances. This can be lengthy, stressful, and costly.
To avoid high costs our dedicated team of specialists will help you set up your LPA over the telephone or in person.
You are never too young nor old to arrange your LPA, yet time is still of the essence.
Losing mental capacity can happen to anyone, without warning. Unless you’ve already arranged for your LPA, your loved ones will need to apply through court to become ‘deputy’, a complex and costly process.
The LPA is a powerful exercise in planning ahead. A plan to be used, in case you lose mental capacity, and with one person in the UK developing dementia every three minutes, it’s never too early to consider making the decision to instruct a solicitor to arrange your LPA.
Your financial position, business, property, or care are specified in the LPA.
A Lasting Power of Attorney covering issues of finance and property allows you (the donor) to specify whether it can be used before you lose capacity, or only when you lack capacity. So, if someone, for example, an elderly relative, follows the steps above and specifies this, you will be able to deal with their affairs while they still have mental capacity.
Whilst you’re setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney it’s a good time to ensure you have an up-to-date Will.
Speak to our dedicated team to see if your Will needs to be updated or if you wish to change your Will, call us on 020 3745 7271 .