Common Lasting Power of Attorney questions answered
1) What is a Lasting Power of Attorney or ‘LPA’?
A Lasting Power of Attorney (‘LPA’) is a legal document which you, as the ‘Donor’ (e.g. the person donating the powers) enter into to give legal powers to your chosen ‘Attorneys’ to act on your behalf and assist you with your personal affairs.
The Attorneys are the people you choose, and trust, to act on your behalf. They could be family members or friends whom you wish to assist you with your affairs if the need arose. They would have the legal authority to assist you from the registered LPA document itself. The Attorneys would ‘step into your shoes’ and would have the same powers you do to manage your affairs. They must always act in your best interests when undertaking this role.
2) Is there just one type of LPA?
There are two types of LPA. One document deals with your property and financial affairs. The second document deals with your health and welfare.
You can choose to have either of the LPAs on their own or you could have both together which is the belt and braces approach we would recommend.
3) What does each LPA cover?
A brief example of what each LPA may cover is listed below:
| Property and Finances LPA | Health and Welfare LPA |
| · Managing your bank accounts | · Arranging where you live |
| · Managing your investments | · What care you receive and where |
| · Selling or buying property on your behalf | · Liaising with your doctor as to your medication and prescriptions |
| · Paying your bills and any taxes | · Making medical decisions on your behalf |
| · Collecting your benefits and / or pensions etc. | · Life sustaining treatment decisions and who can make these on your behalf |
| · Make gifts on your behalf (e.g. to charity or for birthdays / Christmas) |
4) Is it different from an Enduring Power of Attorney?
An Enduring Power of Attorney (‘EPA’) is the document which could be executed prior to LPAs coming into existence. LPAs were introduced to replace EPAs. The current LPA forms are now much more thorough and provide better protection for individuals. EPAs are still in existence today if executed prior to the deadline date however can no longer be created since LPAs were introduced.
5) When can LPAs be used?
For an LPA for health and welfare, this can only be used when the Donor has lost capacity and can no longer make these decisions for themselves.
The LPA for property and finances offers a choice to the Donor to specify when the document can be used once registered with the court. It is either able to be used (a) whilst the Donor has capacity, with their permission, or (b) only when the Donor has lost capacity. The former is a much more flexible option which allows for your Attorneys to assist you in circumstances such as:
• where you have capacity but require help such as signing your cheques (e.g. if you have a broken arm) or if you are not mobile (e.g. if you have a broken leg and cannot physically travel to the bank).
The LPA for property and finances can be restricted however to specify Attorneys can only step in to act once a loss of capacity has occurred. This is a very personal choice to each person and there is no right or wrong answer.
6) What is a loss of capacity?
A loss of mental capacity can occur any time in someone’s lifetime and can result in the loss of ability to make decisions for themselves. A loss of capacity can either be temporary (e.g. entering a coma from a car crash) or permanent (e.g. dementia / Alzheimer’s).
We all hope LPAs never have to be used but we don’t know what the future holds. Having LPAs in place gives individuals peace of mind knowing they are there if needed and our Attorneys can act on our behalf if the need arose.
7) Can’t I fill the papers out myself? Why should a legal professional draft my LPA?
Standard LPA templates are available from the internet for completion by the Donor and there are also other companies which offer to assist filling the documents out for a fee.
If you choose to use a template, you have no guarantee the LPA produced will have been completed correctly or accurately reflect your wishes. Similarly, if you use an unregulated company to assist in drafting your LPA, there is no guarantee they are qualified or insured if something goes wrong.
Legal professionals are trained to draft LPAs to suit each person’s unique circumstances. There is not a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to LPAs as every person’s family, finances and wishes are unique to them. Firms such as Rogers & Norton are also regulated by appropriate legal bodies such as The Solicitors Regulation Authority and are insured.
8) What if I have no family members or friends to act as my Attorney(s)?
Having no-one in mind to appoint as an Attorney (e.g. family members or close friends) is not a bar to making LPAs. One can instead consider appointing a professional, such as Directors in Rogers & Norton, to act on your behalf as professional Attorneys if you have no one else you wish to appoint. They would make a charge for their services but are experienced in acting in this role and it would give you peace of mind your affairs can be managed, in the way you instructed the firm to do so, if a loss of capacity occurred.
9) What are the requirements to make an LPA?
Anyone over the age of 18, with the sufficient mental capacity and acting voluntarily can make an LPA. This is regardless of the level of their assets. Sometimes people believe they shouldn’t make an LPA as they have little in the way of assets, or they are quite young, but it is recommended everyone eligible considers making an LPA.
A loss of capacity can occur at any age. Once a person lacks capacity, it is too late to make LPAs and an alternative, more complex and costly route must instead be considered in the form of a deputyship application.
10) How long is my LPA valid?
Once the document is registered with the court, it can be used. The LPA remains valid until you cancel the document, have no Attorneys left to act on your behalf or once you have passed away.
We try to ‘future-proof’ your LPAs to include back-up provisions where possible.
11) How much will you charge for assisting me?
At Rogers & Norton, we offer fixed fees for our LPA services and costs would be discussed and agreed with you before any work commenced.
Our fixed fees cover the whole process from the initial meeting of advice and taking your LPA instructions, to assisting with arranging signature of the LPA(s) by all parties, registration with the court and subsequent storage of those original registered documents.
Rogers & Norton continue to store our clients’ original documents free of charge and indefinitely. We also have a promotion you can utilise, running until the end of March 2022, to receive a 20% discount on our fees to draft your LPAs.
We aim to be as transparent as possible with our costs and invite clients to contact us to discuss a potential appointment and our fixed fees if they wish to look at making a new LPA. Please do feel free to contact any member of our Private Client team by telephone, email, letter or our website who would be able to assist in this regard.