power of attorney protects you, your assets and your family in the event of you losing your mental capacity through illness or accident. It’s a legal document which ensures your wishes are carried out just as you know you want them to be.
A lasting power of attorney protects your nearest and dearest
- If you don’t have a lasting power of attorney in place and you become incapacitated, someone will have to nominate themselves as your deputy. This person will have to make an application to the Courts, costing them £400 in application fees. If a Court hearing arises, there is a further fee of £500, and annual supervision can cost up to £800
- Without the security of your lasting power of attorney, relatives may also have to complete an in-depth document of around 50 pages, which demands huge amounts of personal information about them, their family, their relationship with you and even their own finances
- Some applications can be seen as contentious and will require a court hearing. Your family and carers will have to attend court at the same time as caring for you
- If you’re married, your spouse may not be automatically granted status of your deputy. In many cases, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) will appoint a close relative as your deputy, but it can and does judge family members to be unsuitable. In this situation, a solicitor or local authority official will be made your deputy and given all the authority that this role carries
Avoid frustration and bureaucracy
Life will be difficult enough if you are incapacitated through an accident, dementia or other illness. Having a lasting power of attorney is a fail-safe way to make life easier for those caring for you. Your wishes will be carried out and your relatives will not need to pay fees to the courts, spend time filling in documentation or battle to be given the authority to carry out what they know would be your wishes.
There have been instances where families of those suffering from dementia, who did not have a lasting power of attorney in place, complain of being ‘treated like criminals’ by the court, even receiving upsetting letters. In the past two years the OPG has taken control of more than £3.2billion of assets and deducted £23million in fees from the bank accounts of those mentally incapacitated by illness in order to supervise the activities of deputies. The court also pays just 0.5% interest on savings it has seized. This rate is significantly lower than the rate of savings to be found in high street bank accounts.
Put your mind at rest; get a lasting power of attorney put in place as a matter of priority. We can guide you through the process quickly, simply and without confusing jargon. The result will be a legally-binding document which will protect your wishes and the well-being of your relatives should you ever need them to care for you.
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