A property and financial affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to plan ahead by choosing one or more people to make decisions on your behalf regarding your property and financial affairs.

You can appoint a property and financial affairs Attorney to manage your finances and property whilst you still have the capacity as well as when you lack capacity. For example, it may be easier for you to give someone the power to carry out tasks such as paying your bills or collecting your benefits or other income.

This might be easier for lots of reasons: you might find it difficult to get about or to talk on the telephone, or you might be out of the country for long periods of time.

You can decide to give your Attorney(s) the power to make decisions about any or all of your property and financial affairs. This could include paying your bills, collecting your benefits or selling your house. It is possible to register LPA whilst the Donor still has the capacity and leave it dormant until it is required.

The advantage of early registration is it may sort out any potential complications with registration at an early noncritical stage. The registration charges will also reflect today’s prices This type of LPA does not allow the person(s) you have chosen (your Attorney) to make decisions about your personal welfare.

If you want someone to be able to make health and welfare decisions on your behalf you will need to make a health and welfare LPA.

A Lasting Power of Attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used. Niche Advice Limited works with a number of legal firms who offer a Lasting Power of Attorney service.

A health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to plan ahead by choosing one or more people to make decisions on your behalf regarding your personal healthcare and welfare.

These health and welfare decisions can only be taken by somebody else when you lack the capacity to make them for yourself: for example, if you are unconscious or because of the onset of a condition such as dementia.

The Attorney(s) you appoint to make personal welfare decisions will only be able to use this power once the LPA has been registered and provided that you cannot make the required decision for yourself.

You can decide to give your Attorney the power to make decisions about any or all of your health and welfare matters.

This could involve some significant decisions, such as:

• giving or refusing consent to particular types of health care, including medical treatment decisions; or
• whether you continue to live in your own home, perhaps with help and support from
  social services, or whether residential care would be more appropriate for you.

If you want your Attorney(s) to have the power to make decisions about ‘life-sustaining treatment’, you have to expressly give your chosen Attorney(s) the power to make such decisions in the health and welfare LPA
form.

You can also give your Attorney(s) the power to make decisions about day-to-day aspects of your personal welfare, should you require help with your diet, your dress or your daily routine. It is up to you which of these decisions you want to allow your Attorney to make.

This type of LPA does not allow the person(s) you have chosen (your Attorney) to make decisions about your property and financial affairs.

If you would like someone to be able to make the property and financial decisions on your behalf you will need to make a property and financial affairs LPA.

A Lasting Power of Attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used.

It is possible to register LPA whilst the Donor still has the capacity and leave it dormant until it is required. The advantage of early registration is it may sort out any potential complications with registration at an early noncritical
stage. The registration charges will also reflect today’s prices.