Mugford & Co Wills (Diss) Ltd
Powers of Attorney

What is a Power of Attorney?

If someone loses their mental capacity, through illness such as dementia or a stroke or otherwise they would need someone to look after their affairs for them. Without a Power of Attorney, banks, building societies and utility companies would not deal with anyone else.

Why Make an LPA?

An LPA is a legal document to allow someone you trust to manage your affairs and act on your behalf particularly when you are unable to do so for yourself. It should not be put off until you think you might be going to need one, as you cannot make an LPA once you have lost mental capacity and you might not know when you are starting to lose mental capacity or it might happen suddenly, such as by a stroke or a car accident.

An LPA enables you to appoint who you would most trust and think most appropriate to act on your behalf. This might be a member of your family or a friend or a professional. You should discuss it first with the person you are considering appointing.

What Would Happen Without an LPA?

If you do lose the ability to manage your own affairs and have neither an LPA or an old EPA, then an application to the court can be made for someone to be appointed to a role similar to that of an attorney, but you would have no control over who would be appointed. The process would take much longer and would be very much more expensive than if you had an LPA in the first place. You would not be able to state your wishes or impose restrictions on their actions.

Lasting Powers of Attorney

Examples of decisions attorneys can make (unless you choose to restrict these) if you are unable to make them for yourself

- without an LPA, how would you manage?

Property and Finance

1. buying or selling property
2. opening or operating bank accounts
3. paying bills
4. accessing financial information
5. claiming benefits and pensions
6. receiving income and inheritances
7. investing savings
8. dealing with tax affairs
9. paying the mortgage, rent and household expenses
10. insuring, maintaining and repairing the home
11. paying for private medical care, residential care or nursing home fees
12. applying for any entitlement to funding for NHS care, social care or adaptations
13. buying a car or equipment or paying for help as needed

1. where you should live and who with
2. day to day care including diet and dress
3. who you may have contact with (you can say in advance who you do wish to see and who you do not)
4. consenting or refusing to medical treatment or examination (you can say or give guidance as to what you would want)
5. arrangements for medical, dental or optical treatment
6. assessments for and provision of community care services
7. whether you would want to take part in social, leisure or fitness activities
8. liaising with medical and care professionals
9. accessing medical records and relevant personal information
10. making complaints about care or treatment

The Next Step

If you are interested in making an LPA then let me know and I can arrange an appointment to go through it with you. The fees of Mugford & Co Wills (Diss) Ltd for discussing the options, advising on the law and preparing and all of the forms are significantly lower than most solicitors' firms. Also there is currently no VAT on these fees.

Please contact Richard Mugford for further information.