The Two Types of Lasting Power of Attorney
If you’ve not yet got around to sorting out your Lasting Power of Attorney now is as good a time as any. And I’m here to guide you through it all. Did you know, for instance, that there are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)? No? Well, what follows is all you need to know. The what, the why and the how. But let’s start at the beginning with a basic definition of an LPA.
What an LPA is
An LPA is a legal document. You set an LPA up to appoint people, your attorneys, to act for you. They’ll do this if/when a situation arises where you’re rendered unable to manage your affairs for yourself for physical or mental reasons.
The Two Types of Power of Attorney
- The first type of LPA deals with your property and financial affairs.
- The second type of LPA is concerned with your health and welfare.
You can find more details about each one here. But to give you an overview:
Armed with the property and finance LPA, your attorneys can buy and sell your property. They will also have access to your bank accounts to pay bills and withdraw money.
With the health and welfare LPA, your attorneys can make decisions on your behalf about such things as:
- Where you live
- What sort of long-term care you might receive
- The sort of medical care you could receive
In addition to these two main categories of LPA there is also a general power of attorney. But the attorney concerned can’t use this if you’ve lost mental capacity.
In the event you have the previous version of the LPA in place, the Enduring Power of Attorney, then that remains valid.
Choosing Your Attorneys
In the first instance, the attorneys you select must, of course, be over eighteen years old. And preferably people in whom you have absolute trust to do the right thing for you. They will after all have to make vital decisions for you, regarding your health and finances. You need to consider that they’ll have access to your bank account and the power to make important medical decisions for you when you can’t. So the attorney/s you select must be someone who can:
a) Manage that level of responsibility and …
- b) … have the time to help you too.
Often, couples will appoint each other and also their adult children to act as their attorneys.
I recommend appointing more than one attorney. Or, at the very least, having a substitute attorney in place. Then, should one attorney not be able to act (for whatever reason) the other attorney can step in.
I also advise that you choose attorneys who get on! If you don’t then you’re paving the way for strife and decision-making difficulties. Further, I suggest you appoint a maximum of four attorneys. More than that number could well make things difficult for all manner of practical reasons. Though of course, it depends on your own individual circumstances.
I’m more than happy to talk it all through with you if you’re struggling in any way.
How to make an LPA
You can get professional advice and have the LPA put together and registered for you. You must register all LPAs before anyone can use them.
You can also visit the Government website and complete an LPA online. Or you can download the forms and complete them yourself.
And of course, as someone who advises my clients on LPAs every day, you can always contact me to see how I can help. As a rule, I can have the forms completed within a couple of days providing I’ve got all the information to hand.
The person making the LPA (the donor) must sign them. As must the attorneys and a certificate provider. The latter being someone who signs to say that you understand what you’re doing and that no one has forced you into making an LPA.
The registration process
This is the bit that takes the time. ALL LPAs must be registered before your attorneys can use them. And this takes around three- five months. So, you can see how important it is you get them sorted out before a situation arises where it’s too late.
Thus it’s always advisable to register the LPAs at once. That way, should your attorneys need to act on them – they can.
If An Attorney Dies or Loses Their Own Capacity
Let’s suppose you have more than one attorney that you’ve appointed ‘jointly and severally’. Should one of them die or lose capacity then the other attorneys can continue acting on your behalf.
Should you have appointed the attorneys ‘jointly’ and one of them dies or loses capacity, the remaining attorneys can’t act for you any more. In this situation the LPA becomes unworkable.
For these reasons, it’s vital you give great care to how you appoint your attorneys.
If they’re appointed ‘jointly’ all your attorneys must sign documents and act as one.
If you appoint them ‘jointly and severally’ then you only need one attorney to make a decision. They won’t need the other attorneys to make decisions and sign documents with them.
Further, you can appoint your attorney to act ‘jointly and severally’ for some decisions but ‘jointly’ only for others. As you can imagine this can get complicated. But it is sometimes appropriate.
Can I Change My Mind About My Attorneys?
Well, you can, yes. But isn’t a straightforward process. You’d first need to revoke or cancel your original LPA and then start again. This tends to be costly and time-consuming. So it’s best, when making your LPA, to do it with a view to it standing the test of time.
For more information
You can always call me on 07538946839 or email me at info@swindonwillwriting.co.uk.
I’m more than happy to give you some initial advice and help you decide whether you should have an LPA. The Office of the Public Guardian also provides a useful guide that explains LPAs in great detail and is user-friendly.