A Lasting Power of Attorney is one of the most important legal documents that you will ever purchase in your life. Read on to discover why a Lasting Power of Attorney is so very important and how it can make a loved one’s life so much easier when harder times arrive….
No one likes to think that anything bad is ever going to happen to a loved one, but sadly we have all experienced bad things happening to people we know. When things do go wrong, a Lasting Power of Attorney is a documnt that will allow you to manage your loved one’s life on their behalf either temporarily or permanently if they do not regain full capacity. It takes away a lot of stress at an already difficult time, which is why a Lasting Power of Attorney is such an important legal document.
What Does A Lasting Power Of Attorney Do?
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document in which the person making the document gives power to a friend or family member to manage their financial and property affairs should they ever lose the mental or physical capacity to do so themselves in the future.
The mental capacity could be any number of things, from an accident leading to hospitalisation and lack of capacity to a more permanent condition such as dementia.
A Lasting Power of Attorney can provide power to the recipient to manage financial and property affairs but also can related to makind decisions about the physical welfare of the person making the Lasting Power of Attorney should their health deteriorate.
Physical capacity can relate to someone being out of the country (perhaps due to an illness abroad or freak weather conditions). Imagine not being able to return home from abroad for several weeks. If that happened, there will be bills needing paying and any number of other financial matters requiring attention. Someone with a Lasting Power of Attorney would be able to take care of these matters for you.
When Is The Best Time To Make A Lasting Power of Attorney?
Now! Seriously, if you are considering making a Lasting Power of Attorney the time to do it is right now. It is one of those documents that can be put off forever because there seems to be no urgency, but as the power of the document only comes into force when someone has lost capacity, and no one ever knows or plans the day that they will lose capacity, the Lasting Power of Attorney should be completed as soon as possible.
The Lasting Power of Attorney can be completed within a relatively short period of time once your solicitor has listened to your needs; usually within as little as seven days. However, in some circumstances, particularly if someone plans to travel abroad for a prolonged period of time, the Lasting Power of Attorney can be completed in a matter of hours if needed. Whilst there may be a premium to pay for an urgent service, the peace of mind that a Lasting Power of Attorney can provide is priceless.
What Sort Of Decisions Can Be Made Under A Lasting Power Of Attorney?
Financial and property decisions made under A Lasting Power can include:
- Buying or selling property;
- Paying your household bills;
- Transferring money between accounts or opening or closing accounts;
- Selling any investments (which may be required to pay for care if someone has lost capacity).
Who Should You Give The Power Of Attorney To?
For many people the choice is often very easy; a son or daughter. They will almost always have your best interests at heart (family feuds aside) and so will be the one that the person making the Lasting Power of Attorney has complete trust in to do the right things for them if they are called upon to do so.
If this option isn’t available often another family member or friend is given the power to manage their financial, property and health affairs.
How Is A Lasting Power Of Attorney Completed?
Once the document has been prepared, your Lasting Power of Attorney will need to be signed in the presents of an independent witness to confirm that you were willingly making the document at the time that you signed it.
Once it has been completed and before it can be used it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. Your specially selected Solicitors Near Me solicitor will advise you of all aspects of the Lasting Power of Attorney, so you really don’t need to spend time thinking about this. We just wanted to explain what goes into making a legally binding Lasting Power of Attorney.
How Much Will A Lasting Power of Attorney Cost?
Sometimes legal fees can be very confusing; we understand that. However, the good news when it comes to a Lasting Power of Attorney is that this will not be the case. Rather than being charged an hourly rate which can mean that you never know how much a legal service will cost, with Solicitors Near Me we insist that our solicitors provide you with a fixed price for your Lasting Power of Attorney. You can even contact us completely free of charge to talk with one of our solicitors and discover how much your Lasting Power of Attorney will cost once the solicitor has asked you some important questions about your requirements.
What Should You Do Next?
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