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Why Should I Make a Lasting Power of Attorney?
Should you ever become unable to manage your financial affairs, property, or personal welfare decisions, a Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to appoint trusted individuals to act on your behalf, ensuring your best interests are protected and your affairs are handled with care and efficiency.
An LPA must be made while you still have the mental capacity to fully understand its implications.
By creating and registering your LPA in advance, you can have peace of mind knowing it will be ready to take effect if and when and if it is needed, protecting your future well-being and removing potential challenges for loved ones when managing your affairs.
Our expert solicitors will ensure the process is straightforward, giving you confidence in your decisions.
What Would a Lasting Power of Attorney Cover?
Health and Welfare LPA – allows your attorney to make health and welfare decisions on your behalf, including where you live and what medical treatment you will or will not receive.
Financial Decisions LPA - covers property and financial affairs such as dealing with your bank accounts, tax affairs, property issues.
You can make just one type, but most people tend to make both simultaneously.
Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) - EPAs were replaced by LPAS on 1st October 2007. It is not possible to make a new EPA, but existing EPAs can still be used if validly executed. We can assist with registering existing EPAs.
Specific or General Powers of Attorney - tend to be more short-term documents (usually a year) and often cover a specific transaction. These documents can only be used while the individual giving the power has mental capacity.
Our Lasting Power of Attorney Service
There are a number of steps to put a valid LPA in place. We can guide you through the process to help you draw up and register the documents which accurately reflect your wishes. This includes:
- Helping you to understand the different types of powers that can be given
- Helping you choose the right attorney(s)
- Advising you on the best way to structure your LPAs
- Documenting issues which may affect the validity of LPAs such as mental capacity or undue influence
- Drafting your LPAs to include bespoke clauses to reflect your personal preferences
- Acting as a Certificate Provider to confirm that you have understood what your LPA entails and witnessing your signature
- Helping your attorney(s) to execute their parts of the LPA to confirm that they are willing to act
- Registering your LPAs with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)
- Providing you with certified copies of the LPA should you need to use them in the future
- In some cases, we may need to liaise with your doctor or a medical professional to provide a mental capacity report
Our Lasting Power of Attorney Experience
Our experienced team frequently deal with LPAs and our Solicitors are trained in dealing with vulnerable people or those who have early stages of Alzheimer’s. Having undertaken additional training on the legalities of putting together LPAs as well as soft skills to deal with clients who may be losing mental capacity, our team are well equipped to help address and foresee practical issues which might arise later. We are also members of Solicitors For The Elderly.
As well as making LPAs, we have also helped families to query actions by Attorneys and cancel documents which have been put in place appointing inappropriate Attorneys.
Our team are highly ranked in The Legal 500 for personal tax, trusts and probate and in Chambers under the high-net-worth category as well as being shortlisted in the British Legal Awards for Private Client Team of the year 2021. Therefore, you can be reassured you will receive a high-quality and truly bespoke service.
Why Choose Myerson's Wills, Trusts, and Probate Team?
- Recognised Expertise: Myerson’s Private Wealth sector proudly holds a Band 2 ranking in the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide, alongside being consistently recognised as a Top Tier law firm by The Legal 500 for the past seven years. As one of the Top 200 UK law firms, Myerson provides exceptional Wills, Trusts, and Probate legal expertise.
- Qualified Professionals: Our team holds additional qualifications in trust administration and tax regimes for trusts, along with the prestigious STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) qualification. We have extensive experience setting up and managing live trusts, ensuring we understand the practicalities of trust operation and drafting.
- Comprehensive Support: We provide tailored advice that respects each client's unique circumstances and understands the emotional weight of estate matters. Our solicitors handle sensitive situations with care, offering support throughout the process.
- Holistic Approach: Our holistic strategy allows us to identify tax-saving opportunities and mitigate unexpected liabilities. We ensure clients comprehend the purpose and functioning of trusts, providing city-quality advice at regional prices.
- Partner-Led Service: Our partner-led approach guarantees the best legal advice and commercially minded support. We collaborate with family and property law teams, delivering a comprehensive service that addresses all aspects of estate management.
- Specialist Expertise: Our highly ranked team in The Legal 500 and Chambers for personal tax, trusts, and probate works closely with our contested wills solicitors to provide expert advice tailored to your needs.
- Recognised Leaders: Bik-ki Wong, Head of our Private Client team, has been recognised as one of the top influential private wealth lawyers in Manchester (2023) by Business Today and as one of the best probate and wills lawyers for high-net-worth individuals in the UK (2023) by Spear's.
- Extensive Network: Through our UK200 Group membership, we have strong connections to Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) and tax advisers, offering comprehensive support tailored to your specific requirements.
- Catering to Diverse Needs: Our team includes fluent Cantonese speakers, ensuring effective communication and understanding in managing estates.
- Look at the Myerson Promise for further benefits of working with us here.
Choosing a Power of Attorney
Testimonials
FAQs
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?
An LPA is a legal document where a person (the Donor) appoints a person or persons (the Attorneys) to assist with decision-making during their lifetime. The Donor must have mental capacity to grant an LPA at the time of making it.
Why types of Powers of Attorney are there?
For LPAs there is one to cover property and financial affairs such as dealing with your house and bank accounts and another one to cover health and welfare decisions which includes where you live and what medical treatment you will or will not receive. You can make just one type, but most people tend to make both at the same time.
There are other types of Powers of Attorney as well. Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) which can no longer be made and were replaced by LPAS on 1st October 2007 but they can still be used if validly executed; Specific or General Powers of Attorney which tend to be more short-term documents (usually a year) and require the Donor to retain mental capacity at the time of use.
What is the difference between an Enduring and Lasting Power of Attorney?
Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) were replaced by LPAs on 1st October 2007 but they can still be used if validly executed. EPAs only deal with the property and financial affairs of the Donor whereas LPAs can be for both property, financial affairs and health and welfare. If you have an EPA and are happy with whom you have appointed but would like to appoint attorneys to deal with your health and welfare, you can make an LPA to cover just your health and welfare decisions.
The other main difference is that an LPA must be registered for it to be valid but EPAs only need to be registered if the Attorneys have reason to believe that the Donor is losing mental capacity and is unable to manage their financial affairs on a day-to-day basis.
Do I need a solicitor to make Power of Attorney?
Technically you do not need a solicitor to make an LPA however, we would strongly advise that you seek guidance on the best way to structure your LPAs. There have been many incidents where the wrong person has been appointed and there has been financial abuse which has required intervention by solicitors of the court which is costly or the wrong type of authority given which has caused problems as the LPA cannot be used in some circumstances. The court is also very strict on the signing of LPAs and therefore it is possible for them to be rejected on multiple occasions which can be problematic if the Donor then loses mental capacity.
Do I need a Will if I have an LPA?
LPAs only deal with decision-making whilst the Donor is alive and incapable of making decisions themselves. Once the Donor dies, the power comes to an end and the personal representatives of the estate will take over the administration of the estate. If you do not have a Will, the rules of intestacy will apply so you may have family members whom you do not wish to deal with your estate in charge of your assets whereas making a Will allows you to appoint your preferred executor.
What happens if I don’t have an LPA?
If a person loses mental capacity and has not put into place a valid LPA, someone will need to make an application to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship Order. A Deputy is similar to the role of the Attorney but the appointment will need to be made by the Court of Protection.
This means that they will need full disclosure of the person’s finances to include, including income, expenditure and current assets. They will also need to complete checks on the intended Deputy.
The Court of Protection will also usually only appoint one Deputy whereas, in a Power of Attorney, more than one can be appointed and in different a variety of ways to suit the Donor. This process can take 2-3 times longer and costs 2-3 times more than making an LPA.
Who should I appoint as an attorney under my lasting power of attorney?
Acting as an attorney is a big responsibility, and the attorney needs to be capable of doing the job. Attorneys will have access to your finances, and therefore, they need to be people you can trust.
They do not need any special qualifications as they should seek professional advice when it comes to investing or managing assets.
Most people will appoint family members as their attorneys, but you can appoint friends, colleagues, or a professional.
We will discuss the decision of who to appoint in detail with the client.
What decisions cannot be made by a legal power of attorney?
Decisions must always be made with the Donor’s best interests in mind.
An attorney cannot make gifts or move money out of the Donors name.
They also cannot make a Will for the attorney. These decisions, and other similar matters, will need input from the court.
How much does a lasting power of attorney cost?
We charge fixed fees for LPAs. Please see our guide for details.
Can I still make an LPA if I have had a recent diagnosis of dementia?
An individual must have the necessary mental capacity to make an LPA.
A dementia diagnosis in itself does not necessarily mean someone lacks mental capacity. It may still be possible to make an LPA in these circumstances. T
he solicitor acting for you will need to put various safeguards in place and it may require a mental capacity assessment.
What is the Powers of Attorney Act 2023?
The Powers of Attorney Act 2023 aims to digitise the process and make it faster, easier, more accessible and secure. It will:
- speed up registration time by picking up errors earlier and allowing these to be fixed online
- allow checks on the identity of those applying for an LPA to prevent fraud
- allow for an LPA to be made digitally
- widen the group of people who can make an objection
- expedite the objection process
- allow chartered legal executives to certify copies of LPAs
The changes follow a perceived need to update and streamline the service after a significant increase in LPA applications in recent years.
Meet Our Wills, Trusts, and Probate Lawyers
Home-grown or recruited from national, regional or City firms. Our wills, trusts, and probate lawyers are experts in their fields and respected by their peers.
Contact Our Experts
You can contact our lawyers below if you have any more questions or want more information:
0161 941 4000
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