A power of attorney is a legal document and is an effective way of giving someone you trust the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf.

This could be for them to make decisions for you now or it could be to plan for the possibility that you may, at some time in the future, be unable to make decisions for yourself. Having a power of attorney set up in advance can make things much easier which is why many people consider creating powers of Attorney even when they are not necessary at the time they are created. There are a number of reasons why you may need someone to make decisions on your behalf. It may be a temporary measure, if you’re going into hospital and need help with everyday financial tasks like paying your bills. Or, it may be part of long-term planning – if, for example, you’ve been diagnosed with dementia and want to plan in case you lose mental capacity to make your own decisions in the future. 

There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) 

One for making financial decisions and another for making health and care decisions. Each LPA is separate and distinct from the other. You can set up LPAs for both types of decisions or for just one of them. An LPA for health and care decisions can only be used if you lose mental capacity. 

An LPA for financial decisions can however be used while you still have mental capacity. You need to consider if you want the LPA for financial decisions to be effective immediately or only after you have lost capacity. You can cancel an LPA at any time while you have mental capacity by writing to your attorney or attorneys and the Office of the Public Guardian advising them of your decision. 

If you create an LPA dealing with financial decisions this gives your attorney, the authority to make all decisions about your finances and property unless you limit their authority by including specific instructions when setting it up. If you create an LPA for health and care your attorney can make decisions about things such as your medical care, social activities and even where you live. When setting up the LPA, you will also have to consider whether to give your attorney the authority to make decisions about life- saving treatment. Unlike an LPA for financial decisions, your attorney can only use this LPA if you no longer have mental capacity. 

Importantly, if you lose mental capacity and don’t have this type of LPA in place, any decisions about your health or care will be made by healthcare professionals. Whilst they might consult your family when deciding what is in your best interests the final decision lies with them in the absence of an LPA. 

It is possible to create an LPA yourself either by obtaining paper application forms from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) or you can create an LPA online. Alternatively, you can employ the services of a solicitor in which case it would be prudent to compare the fees of several firms of solicitors before deciding which one to instruct. 

You can appoint as many attorneys as you like, you can also specify that attorneys must act jointly for specific decisions, such as selling a house, but they can act jointly and separately for all other decisions. 

Prepared by Carl Chapman of Thompson Chapman Solicitors