Lasting Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document by which you, the Donor can appoint another person(s) to make decisions for you, should you become incapable of managing your affairs for any reason. This gives you, your family and loved ones the peace of mind that all matters will be dealt with in your best interests, by someone who you know and trust should the unfortunate happen.

There are two types of LPA:

Health and Welfare
Property and Financial Affairs

A Health and Welfare LPA allows you can choose in advance who will be authorised to make decisions on your behalf, relating to your health and welfare in the event of you losing the capacity to make decisions yourself. Control over your affairs would only pass to the person(s) that you have nominated as your attorney(s) at such a time when you have lost mental capacity. Health and Welfare LPA’s are required when decisions are needed in respect of consent to medical treatment and to organise residential care.

With a Property and Financial Affairs LPA again you can choose someone to manage your financial affairs. Unlike the Health and Welfare LPA, a Property and Financial Affairs attorney can be authorised by you to act on your behalf whilst you still have capacity, for example during extended periods abroad, if you struggle to get out and about in bad weather, or in the event you just don’t want to deal with the matters yourself.

What are the costs?

Initial meeting fee is £225 plus VAT.

The cost for making a LPA is £300 plus VAT.

The cost for making both LPAs is £500 plus VAT.

If you are a couple who each wish to have both documents and are appointing the same attorney(s) to act for you, the cost for these would be £800 plus VAT.

We will prepare both the document and the application to register your LPAs with the Office of the Public Guardian for which there is a registration cost of currently £82.00 per LPA, unless you are eligible for a remission or exemption of the fee which we can advise.

It is recommended that the LPA is registered in readiness for its use, as registering the document at the time it needs to be used results in delays as currently the Office of the Public Guardian are advising the registration process is 20 weeks. Until the LPA is registered your matters cannot be dealt with, as no one has the authority to act for you.

What happens if I don’t have a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?

If a person loses mental capacity and has not put a valid LPA in place, an individual will need to make an application to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship Order on behalf of the person without capacity. A Deputy is similar to that of an Attorney, but the appointment is made by the Court of Protection.

This means that they will need full disclosure of the person’s finances to include, income, expenditure and current assets. They will also need to complete checks on the intended Deputy.

The Court of Protection will also usually only appoint one Deputy whereas in a LPA, more than one person can be appointed as your Attorney(s). The Court of Protection may also decide to appoint a professional Deputy rather than a relative or friend of the person lacking capacity depending on the circumstance of the application.

The Court of Protection process can take 2-3 times longer and costs 2- 3 times more than making a LPA.

A LPA comes to an end when the Donor dies.

How we can help you

Our Private Client Team can help you with the following aspects of a LPA:

Preparing and executing the Lasting Power of Attorney.
Advising you the type of Lasting Power of Attorney to meet your requirements.
Registering the Lasting Power of Attorney.
Assisting you in a Court of Protection. Application if a Lasting Power of Attorney is not in place.

Call us today and one of our experienced team members will help guide you through the process.

MEET OUR LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY TEAM

Our team has extensive experience in dealing with Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA). They are sympathetic, understanding, and prepare the document that meets your individual requirements.

Nicholson Jones Sutton Solicitors offer a fixed price service, so you’re safe in the knowledge that whilst you have an expert legal team on your side there are no hidden fees.

If you would like to make your LPA(s) or require some more information, please get in touch via phone or email to arrange a free no obligation consultation.

CONTACT US TODAY

Use our contact form to message us below, or alternatively if you feel more comfortable, you can call us on

New Business / Marketing

If you can introduce new clients to NJS our Marketing team would love to hear from you:

Phone Number: 01625 667 275

Email Address: newclient@njslaw.co.uk

Lasting Power of Attorney Blog Posts

Making a Lasting Power of Attorney

14 March 2022 No Comments

We all plan for the future; whether it’s a career, a home, or a family, we all have a direction for our life. Whilst we hate to ponder if the unimaginable could happen to us, it is always better to prepare for all circumstances, and your health and finances should not be any less important. Making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) will give you and your family peace of mind should the unfortunate happen.

Ask NJS

For your probate and related legal issues, simply ask NJS

Will FAQs

For any questions we may be able to answer, discover our FAQs section.

Information

Contact

Nicholson Jones Sutton Solicitors Limited is a Limited company which is UK based registration number 06945583.

Our services are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. www.sra.org.uk