Who Can You Trust with Your Last Power of Attorney?
In England, if you want to appoint someone to make decisions for you when you can’t, you need to make a Last Power of Attorney or LPA. This document names the person who will be in charge of your affairs when you can’t make decisions for yourself. It’s an important decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. In this blog post, we’ll talk about who can be appointed as an attorney in an LPA and what practical considerations should be made.
Choosing an Attorney
The first step in choosing an LPA attorney is to consider who you trust to make decisions on your behalf. These decisions won’t or don’t necessarily have to be made when you lose capacity but it’s often the case. The person in question should also always make decisions in your best interests.
This person will have a significant amount of responsibility, so it’s important that you choose someone you know and trust implicitly. They must understand their responsibilities too. Many people choose a family member or close friend, but you can also appoint a professional. Speak to us if you need to appoint a professional.
Location is important because the person or people you appoint as your attorneys shouldn’t be located too far from you as this may become inconvenient or impractical.
Once you’ve decided who you want to appoint, you need to consider what sort of decisions they’ll need to make on your behalf. For example, will they need to manage your finances? Make healthcare decisions? Both? You’ll need to make sure that your LPA covers all the areas that are important to you and we can help you with both of these LPA documents.
Practical Considerations with LPAs
Once you’ve chosen your LPA attorney, there are a few practical considerations to keep in mind. First, you’ll need to make sure that they’re available and willing to take on the responsibility. They should also be comfortable with the level of decision-making required. You may want to have a conversation with them about your LPA before you formalise anything to make sure they’re up for the task and understand your wishes.
It’s also important to consider what would happen if your attorney is unable or unwilling to continue in their role and who you would want as a replacement attorney, just in case.
Finally, you need to think about how you will keep your LPA up to date. As your circumstances change, you may need to make changes to your LPA. For example, if your wishes regarding healthcare change or if your investments change, you may want to have a discussion with us about your LPA to reflect these changes.
Making a decision about who will be in charge of your affairs when you can’t is a big responsibility. But if you take the time to choose someone you trust and consider all the practicalities, you can be sure that your LPA is in good hands.
SLS Wills and More are on hand to support and our team have years of experience.
