Ageing is expected in any population and looking after elderly relatives is only one part of this community wide problem. People of any age who are rendered unable to look after themselves properly as a result of disease or accident can also need help and assistance in dealings regarding their money and belongings, as well as in dealings regarding their well being and healthcare.

We all like to be in control for as long as we possibly can manage to. The thought of growing old and having things done to us that we may or may not agree with is a worry. It doesn’t have to be like that. You can stay in control. You can choose your carers and those who will look after your property and affairs. That’s what a lasting powers of attorney is designed to do for you in essence.

The procedure of making a lasting powers of attorney is fairly easy. It involves these steps:

1. The person wishing to make a lasting powers of attorney must first designate an Attorney or Attorneys of his or her choice.

2. The person wishing to make a lasting powers of attorney needs someone to provide a certificate confirming their circumstances and capabilities or lack of them.

3. The lasting powers of attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian in order to be a legal and binding document before it can be used.

4. Part of the registration process of an lasting powers of attorney usually requires that certain key people need to be informed of this happening.

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My elderly parents have expressed interest in giving me lasting powers of attorney. On reasearching the subject, it appears that there are two types. The Personal and Welfare lasting powers of attorney allows a person to hand over the decision-making powers in regard to their healthcare and welfare to a responsible person of their choosing. The Property and Affairs lasting powers of attorney allows a person to hand over the decision-making powers in regard to their property and affairs to a responsible person of their choosing.

Making a lasting powers of attorney allows a person to have control over whom they wish to have appointed as the person who makes decisions on their behalf in regards to their personal welfare and health situation, as well as in regards to matters concerning their property and personal affairs. Your solicitor may also be appointed as professional Attorney if desired.

If you do not make a lasting powers of attorney and set out what should happen if you become incapacitated, or when you become too old to manage, the Court will step in and do this for you. A deputy could be appointed by the Court of Protection whose duty it will be to manage your affairs under the supervision of the Court. Obviously this prospect is a worry to my parents so I will see their solicitor for further advice.

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My solicitor has advised me that a lasting powers of attorney allows someone to give an attorney of their choice the power to make certain decisions on their behalf. This is usually done while the person is still able to make their own decisions, but with the possibility in mind that they may not be able to in the future. Not sure if I’m even ready to think about this yet.

Lasting powers of attorney are not all about delegating power apparently. They allow you to state the limits of the powers too. In this way you have a high level of control that allows you to plan your future extremely accurately to your satisfaction.

Personal Welfare lasting powers of attorney deals with matters that involve the person’s well being. The decisions made under this kind of lasting powers of attorney are about the person’s health, where they should be cared for and how. It also involves the kind of medical decisions that may have to be made. These decisions could even have life or death implications.

The Property and affairs lasting powers of attorney deals with matters that involve a person’s belongings and financial situation. It can be fairly mundane things like making sure that the person receives the right level of State benefits, checking that their bank account is in order, or looking after investments, etc. This does not include having the delegated power of making a new will on your behalf, however.

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Power of attorney is being simplified and the cost is falling, so there’s no excuse to put it off any longer, says Harriet Meyer

Given that many of us will develop health problems as we get older, and may even be struck down in the prime of life by accident or illness, arranging for someone to have legal control over our finances and health decisions can be invaluable. This is known as lasting power of attorney (LPA).

Julie Hutchison, head of estate planning for Standard Life, says: “Putting a power of attorney in place is bread-and-butter financial planning, as it is the second most important document after a will.”

In order to hand over control of your finances to relatives or close friends through an LPA you need to complete a 25-page form. Introduced in October 2007 the LPA replaces its predecessor, the four-page enduring power of attorney (EPA), and was intended to be a more rigorous system that would eradicate abuses. Instead it has been beset by problems.

Completing the LPA form takes several hours of lawyers’ time and costs up to £1,000. “The forms are a nightmare,” Jeremy Curtis, partner at Pemberton Greenish solicitors says. “It’s so long and complicated to complete in its current form that it’s very difficult to get right.” The requirement to register the LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian, which is necessary for money and personal welfare matters, “makes the system hugely expensive and cumbersome”.
There have been “huge delays and cases where forms have been lost in the system” when trying to register power, according to Ruth Meyer, a solicitor at Boyes Turner. As a result of numerous complaints the system is being reformed.

In April, the cost of registering the forms was cut from £150 to £120 following criticism that the price was putting people off; however, any changes to the form must go through parliament. Helen Clarke, chair of the wills and equity committee of the Law Society, says: “The target date for changes to the forms to be implemented is October, as they have to go through a legislative process and be piloted first.”

The Office of the Public Guardian is also making an effort to simplify its language. Martin John, the Public Guardian, adds: “We have reduced the risk of errors through improved design, and have included guidance to make completion simpler. Reducing the LPA registration fee demonstrates our commitment to provide a cost-effective service and to encourage take-up of such an important safeguard.”

The hoops you have to jump through may be frustrating, but it is best to appoint someone while you are still in good health. Most people expect to need such a representative only in extreme old age, forgetting that road accidents, for example, can happen at any time.

In Scotland, similar but more successful legislation has been in place since 2001, and more than 100,000 people have taken up the provision – among a population of just 5 million.

One way to bring down the cost is by making the big decisions before you see your solicitor. The most important two decisions are who you want to act as your attorney, and how broad you want their authority to be. You can have more than one person as your attorney, but you must be confident they can work together.

I recently set up a business with two other people and have been currently completing the standard formalities that one undertakes to officially form the company. Trying to control the controllables leaves me to outline the purpose in my situation of a lasting power of attorney which I feel is most relevant in these times of economic uncertainty, stress and anxiety for business owners.

Whilst taking out Keyman insurance it was also suggested to us that we potentially should look at creating lasting powers of attorney respectively for each co director to ensure that should something happen to our mental wellbeing and we’re not of sound mind to be able to make rational and fit decisions for the company because mental illness has struck, then the Lasting powers of attorney would be an effective way for us to be able to make decisions on behalf of our co-directors and give us some form of protection.

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