Power of Attorney – why are they important?

A Power of Attorney nominates someone to act on your behalf should you lose mental capacity, as defined by the Mental Health Act 2005. Mental incapacity could be dementia or other mental health issues brought on by illness or even an accident. Importantly they are put in place BEFORE you lose capacity. Only if you are unable to make decisions for yourself does the Attorney(s) your chose act on your behalf. Typically the Attorney is either a spouse or child.

So why are they important to get setup now?

There are a number of reasons I advise all my clients to have Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place, not least peace of mind, but importantly because the alternative to an LPA is much more expensive and time consuming.

If you no longer have the capacity to make an LPA your spouse/ children have to apply to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship Order. This is a complex process with a number of potential pitfalls. It also costs significantly more and can take 28 weeks to put in place.

In conclusion my strong recommendation is to get a Lasting Power of Attorney in place now and save time, money and hassle for your loved ones.

Cost to setup an LPA is £225+vat BBX per LPA excl. the OPG fee (£82 per LPA).

I cover most of the South of England up to west London. I offer a free consultation meeting with all clients.

If you have any questions regarding this please give me a call or drop me an email.

Call 01202 022 841 or matthew@mwestateplanning.co.uk

Matthew is a qualified STEP Advanced Will Writer. He is also a Society of Will Writers qualified Estate Planner having attended numerous the College of Will Writer courses on various subjects from business tax planning, Trusts, Deputyship orders in additional to many different Will writing courses.

Matthew adheres to the Society of Will Writers strict Code of Practice, which governs ethical client interactions and includes mandatory PI cover and a certain number of hours training per month. So we are up to date with the latest developments and tax laws.