WDS

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a document you complete which gives somebody of your choice the power to deal with your financial affairs and/or your medical decisions, if for any physical or mental reason you were unable to. A Lasting Power of Attorney is the only document which gives this power after mental incapacity such as a stroke, provided it is registered with the court of protection. A Donor is the person making the Power of Attoney. An Attorney is the person the Donor appoints to act.

Who needs one ? …

Anyone who has assets in their sole name or owns any share in a property
Owns any investments like Tessa's or Peps or ISA's
Or has Bank or Building Society accounts in their own name ...

You can-not complete one after the event …

In the event of an accident, illness or a problem abroad:

All assets are frozen
Access is prohibited
Delay in dealing with bills
Office of the Public Guardian is the only option
A receiver is appointed and charges are incurred

Explanation

The lasting power of attorney differs from a simple power of attorney, in so much as the lasting form, allows the attorney to run the affairs of the donor, even if the donor has been confirmed to be, or is about to become, mentally incapable of running their own affairs. Simple powers of attorneys have to stop when a donor becomes mentally ill. The Act came into force on the 10^th March 1986. Anyone eighteen years or over can be a donor provided that they are mentally capable at the time. The donor when deciding on powers to confer on the attorney or attorneys should think carefully. It is possible to allow the attorneys to have general powers OR it is possible to restrict them to limited powers. This will of course depend on the circumstances of the donor.

TYPES

A general power authorises the Attorney(s) to carry out any transactions on the donors behalf which the donor is legally able to delegate to the Attorney(s)
A Specific authority enables the Attorney(s) to deal only with those aspects of the Donor’s affairs which are specified in the power. For example you can appoint an Attorney to deal with a specific Bank account.
A general or specific power with restrictions and conditions authorises the Attorney(s) to deal with all the donor’s property and affairs except specified aspects; for example , the power may exclude the Attorney(s) right to sell the house in which the donor lives; or it may direct that the Attorney(s) is/are not to act until the power is registered.

It is possible to appoint different “sets” of Attorneys to deal with different affairs, in which case a separate lasting power of attorney form has to be drawn up for each circumstances. Each Donor however must make their separate lasting powers of attorney, there is no such thing as a “joint lasting power of attorney”. A Donor can cancel or revoke a Lasting Power at any time while he remains mentally capable; but a Lasting Power cannot be cancelled or revoked once it has been registered unless and until the Office of the Public Guardian confirms the revocation. To cancel or revoke a Lasting Power (whilst still unregistered) the donor should sign a Deed of Revocation. The format of this form is not mandatory. If however the Lasting Power has already been registered then the donor has to make an application to the Office of the Public Guardian for its revocation, accompanied by the original Lasting Power and the Deed of Revocation.

Do you need one?

The Married Couple
If the clients have any assets in there own name or if any account requires both signatures then the clients need Lasting Power of Attorney!

Mr Client: You have your savings in your Wife’s name which is saving you some tax, however if your wife became incapacitated for any reason your money would be tied up indefinitely. You need Lasting Power of Attorney!

Everything is in Joint Names:
Mr Client your house is in joint names which is not unusual. However if either of you became mentally or physically incapacitated for any reason then you would not be able to sell the house. You need Lasting Power of Attorney!

Lets say one of you had a stroke and you needed to move into a bungalow. You would not be able to sell your home without the others signature, obviously this may be difficult and you may not be able to move without going through the courts. You need Lasting Power of Attorney!

Signing

With regard to the signing of the Lasting Power. The Donor must sign first and his or her signature must be witnessed by an independent witness.

In the case of a Donor who cannot sign their name due to illiteracy or physical handicap or blindness then the attestation clause would need to be amended to reflect the circumstances at the time of signing.

If you can't sign your name because of illness, accident or mental impairment ~ YOUR ASSETS are FROZEN ~ nobody else can access them for you. Try asking your Bank for a balance on your spouses account ?

If you appoint someone with a Lasting Power of Attorney, they can sign for you and carry out all your financial affairs on your behalf if you should become unable to until you recover.

If you become mentally impaired (even if only temporary) they can act for you in your best interests.

You can not make a Lasting Power of Attorney after you become mentally incapable and no other form of Power of Attorney is valid in such cases.

The only alternative is for a relative or friend (who you can trust) to apply to the Office of the Public Guardian to be appointed as a Receiver or a solicitor could be appointed to act for you.

This can be costly ~ up to £1000 in legal & court fees

A bond costing many £1000's may be required

A Receiver has to keep annual accounts of financial dealings

There are annual reviews and fees required by the court

A Lasting Power of Attorney will solve all of these problems!

Which do you prefer? ~ a little now ~ or possibly £1000's later !!