No one wants to think about the fact that one day, they may be incapable of making important decisions about their health or financial affairs. Nevertheless, if you want to ensure decisions are made in line with your wishes, you need to consider a lasting power of attorney.
What is mental incapacity?
Mental incapacity is when problems with understanding, memory, decision-making and communication make you incapable of deciding legal, medical or financial matters for yourself. It is situation specific, meaning you may be competent in some areas and not others. Perhaps you can make decisions over your medical care, but cannot manage your finances. Incapacity may be temporary, or permanent. For instance, someone may recover from a stroke, or go through phases of increased or reduced clarity if they have dementia. The law governing how and when you can make decisions for someone who is incapacitated is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
What is a lasting power of attorney?
Lasting power of attorney, or LPA, is when you designate a person or persons to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated. It could be financial, medical or both. Traditionally, you would apply for an LPA by visiting a solicitor, but you can also navigate the application process for an LPA online, with the help of experts such as those at https://powerofattorneyonline.co.uk/.
Your designated attorney must be over 18, and if they are going to be handling financial matters, must not be bankrupt. You may choose to have up to four people as attorneys.
What happens if you don’t designate an LPA?
If you do not establish an LPA whilst you are mentally capable, then should you suddenly become incapacitated, your relatives will have to go to court to try and gain the authority to manage your affairs. This can be a lengthy, complicated and expensive process.
If you do not want a court that does not know you making the final decisions about your life and assets, you need to ensure that you choose a trusted person to manage your LPA.
