Advantages of setting up Lasting Powers of Attorney in the UK

Whilst Wills are well-known documents, they focus on what happens when a person passes away and how their estate is divided. It is just as important to prepare for what should happen if you suffer from weakened or complete loss of mental capacity whether through age or following an accident or illness.

Appointing a Lasting Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney (‘LPA’) is a legal document that grants a pre-appointed Attorney, such as ZEDRA Estate Planning, the authority to act on your behalf in circumstances where you are too ill or otherwise unable to make critical decisions for yourself – regardless of age. This could be either temporarily or on a continuing basis.

There are two types of LPA in the UK:

1. one that covers Health and Welfare; and
2. another that covers Property and Financial Affairs.

As people are increasingly aware of the growing number of people affected by loss of mental capacity, due to diseases like Alzheimer’s, so too are the benefits of having an LPA in place. An LPA can be set up with ease and speed. An LPA offers you peace of mind that your affairs will be looked after by someone you trust should you no longer be able to deal with them yourself. We can prepare both types of LPA and will also register them with the Office of the Public Guardian (the governing body for LPAs) and, for no additional charge, we will store the originals in our secure storage facility.

Why Appoint a Professional Attorney?

You may choose to appoint a professional Attorney because, despite having family members who you trust, it may not be practical to appoint them for many reasons – for example due to distance. Also, those family members may not have the understanding or want to fulfil the role. Alternatively, you may wish to have someone independent from your family making decisions about your financial assets.

A professional Attorney can also be useful if you do not have any children and want to nominate a trusted party to make important decisions for you. ‘Whatever the reason for using our LPA services, our clients always have peace of mind, knowing that an independent and experienced professional Attorney will be handling their affairs,’ says Stuart McLuckie, Managing Director, ZEDRA Manchester.

Both LPAs for Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare offer several benefits and can be tailored to meet your wishes.

A Finance and Property LPA nominates an Attorney to be responsible for such things as; making sure a mortgage or bills are paid on time, handling the sale of a property, investing money to provide for future needs or paying for carers or nursing homes. Health and Welfare LPAs give an Attorney the ability to make important healthcare decisions or look at long-term care requirements for someone who is sick or has failing health. This could include where they live and what, if any, treatment they receive.

‘ZEDRA’s LPA services are in high demand as appointing a professional Attorney offers a great deal of relief. Our clients can rest assured knowing that they have their affairs in order should they become unable to make decisions for themselves,’ adds Stuart.

Hopefully, any LPA that you make will never need to be used but, like an insurance policy, it is much better to have it in place.

For more information, please contact Stuart McLuckie, Managing Director, ZEDRA Manchester.