Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) are legal documents in which you can give one or more persons (your Attorneys) legal power to handle your property and financial affairs, or power to make health and welfare decisions if you become unable to do so for yourself. You can restrict the use of the LPA until after you lose mental capacity, but most people are happy for it to be activated before then. You can appoint more than one Attorney and you can decide whether they can act independently or that they must always act together, or a mixture of these.
There are two types of LPAs:
Property and Financial Affairs LPAs deal with all aspects of your finances and property, for example: paying bills, collecting benefits and pension payments, buying and selling property.
Health and Welfare LPAs deal with personal decisions about you and your medical treatment, for example: decisions regarding where you should live, about your medical treatment, dealing with social and health care issues, and making day to day decisions on your behalf.
Without an LPA, no-one can lawfully access your funds, or other areas, until they receive a Deputyship order from the Court of Protection which can be very costly and slow.
Wills, probate and trust
