At Whiskers we aim to provide you with certainty and security as to what will happen to your affairs in the future. In light of this, we advise many of our clients to make a Lasting Power of Attorney to ensure that you nominate who you would wish to deal with your finances and/or your welfare should you at some point in the future become mentally incapable.

Without a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, if someone should lose mental capacity, a Court of Protection application would have to be made appointing a Deputy to deal with their affairs. This process can be both time consuming and expensive. With a Lasting Power of Attorney however, such a drawn out process is entirely avoidable.

If you are interested in having a Lasting Power of Attorney prepared, please note the following:-

• Lasting Powers of Attorney are a mechanism for appointing an attorney to whom you can delegate powers to manage your financial affairs and make health and welfare decisions, if you were becoming or had become mentally incapable through ill health.  They are particularly useful when someone has suffered a stroke, been involved in an accident, or at the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
• Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 they have replaced Enduring Powers of Attorney.
• Two different LPAs are available and either or both can be used as necessary:  (i) The first deals with your financial matters (ii) The second deals with your welfare/health issues.
• Different attorneys can be appointed to deal with each of the two matters.
  
• For the LPA to be put into practical effect, a registration fee to register the Lasting Power of Attorney with the Public Guardianship Office must be paid.  It is not however required that this is done immediately.  The LPA may be kept unregistered until it is required to be used.
• The LPA is in a prescribed form (as with the EPA it replaces) and there are further prescribed Notes which the Donor, the Attorneys and a third person who has to complete a Certificate, will each need to read and confirm that they have understood.
• Those who already have an Enduring Power of Attorney should note that it remains valid for now and the old rules regarding registration will continue to apply.

If you would like to discuss the possibility of completing a Lasting Power of Attorney, please contact Gerry Smith at the Epping Office or Jason Winton at the Woodford Green office.

Gerry Smith     
Tel. Number: 01992 561111
Email: gerry.smith@whiskers.co.uk

Johanna Graham
Tel. Number: 01279 439439
E:mail : johanna.graham@whiskers.co.uk