This is the process of selecting one or more people you trust to make certain decisions for you if one day begin to lack the mental capacity to do so for yourself. A lack of mental capacity could occur for many reasons, such as being involved in an accident, becoming ill or getting older. Selecting an LPA is an act of preparation to ensure that someone you trust will oversee your affairs when you are unable to manage these yourself. The person you select will be your ‘Attorney’ and they will have a Lasting Power of Attorney over you. There are two main types of Power of Attorney, one is over health and welfare and the other focuses on property and financial affairs. An LPA for health and welfare will make decisions on things like your daily routine, your medical care and life-sustaining treatment. An LPA for property and financial affairs will oversee things like your bank accounts, paying your bills and selling any property you may have. You can choose to appoint an ‘Attorney’ for both types of LPA or just one, it depends on your needs.
How to create a Lasting Power of Attorney:

To create an LPA, you must fill out a form selecting the type of LPA you wish to appoint and who you would like to appoint on the government website, to submit your application you must also pay the required fee. If you do not receive any exemptions or reductions, the current fee for this service is £82. Once you have submitted this form you will have to wait for it to be approved (up to 20 weeks) by the Office of the Public Guardian. Once this has been approved you will need to store this document with your other important ones, so it is easily accessible.

To make an LPA you do not need to live in the UK or be a British Citizen. The only requirements for making an LPA is that you must be 18 or over and have mental capacity (the ability to make your own decisions) when it is submitted. An LPA can be used as soon as it is registered but will only be used once you are judged to lack mental capacity. An LPA can also be cancelled if you feel like you no longer need it, or you would like to appoint somebody else in a new LPA.

Why you should consider a Lasting Power of Attorney:

Selecting a Power of Attorney allows you to have control over who looks after your affairs if youbegin to lack mental capacity and ensures that your affairs are dealt with by someone you trust if this happens.

Why you should consider writing a letter of wishes:
Important considerations:

It is important to know that an LPA can only be used once you lack mental capacity. This means that it can only be used when you’re unable to make your own decisions. An LPA is in place to ensure that your affairs are organised by someone you trust when you need them to be. It is also important to carefully consider who you appoint as your Attorney as they will oversee either your personal or financial affairs when you are in a very vulnerable position, so you must select someone that you trust very much to look after you in this situation.

How SharedAffairs can help:

As an LPA is a legal document so it is important to store this securely, SharedAffairs can help with this! If you decide to get an LPA, once it has been registered you can upload this to our site for secure online storage. Any documents uploaded are stored securely and only released to your chosen contacts once our authentication process is carried out. SharedAffairs removes the need for relatives or friends to search for physical documents and instead seamlessly delivers these directly to your chosen contacts, saving them time and energy allowing them to carry out your wishes in an efficient way.

To learn more: Power of attorney on Gov.uk

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