A Lasting Power of Attorney is to protect your interests during your lifetime and is the only way to ensure that the people you trust are in a position to deal with your property, financial affairs and health & welfare where you are unable to do so, for example, due to a serious accident or an illness that affects your mental capacity, like dementia.

There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney:

Health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney: this gives your attorney power to make decision such as medical care, accommodation, daily routine and giving or refusing consent to life-sustaining treatments.

Property and financial affairs Lasting Power of Attorney: this gives your attorney power to manage bank accounts, deal with benefits, savings and investments, pensions, pay bills or buy and/or sell property.

You can only make an Lasting Power of Attorney when you have the mental capacity to do so. We can guide you through the process to help you prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney that reflects your wishes.

Please fill out our online form below. If you need assistance or have any questions, please contact us.

Lasting Power of Attorney for Property & Financial Affairs

Section 1 – The Donor

Section 2 – The Attorneys

Your attorneys will be the people you choose to make decisions on your behalf. They should be people that you know and trust well. You need at least one attorney, but you can have more.

Section 3 – How should your attorneys make decisions?

You need to choose whether your attorneys can make decisions on their own or must agree some or all decisions unanimously. Whatever you choose, they must always act in your best interests.

Section 4 – Replacement Attorneys

This section is optional, but we recommend you consider it.
Replacement attorneys are a backup in case one of your original attorneys can’t make decisions for you any more. To appoint a trust corporation, fill in the first attorney space below and tick the box in that section. Reasons replacement attorneys step in – if one of your original attorneys dies, loses capacity, no longer wants to be your attorney, becomes bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order or is no longer legally your husband, wife or civil partner.
Restrictions – replacement attorneys must be at least 18 years old and have mental capacity to make decisions. They must not be bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order.

Section 5 – When can your attorneys make decisions?

Section 6 – People to notify when the LPA is registered.

This section is optional

You can let people know that you’re going to register your LPA. They can raise any concerns they have about the LPA – for example, if there was any pressure or fraud in making it.When the LPA is registered, the person applying to register (you or one of your attorneys) must send a notice to each ‘person to notify’.

You can’t put your attorneys or replacement attorneys here.

People to notify can object to the LPA, but only for certain reasons (listed in the notification form LP3). After that, they are no longer involved in the LPA. Choose people who care about your best interests and who would be willing to speak up if they were concerned.

Section 7 – Preferences and instructions

This section is optionalYou can tell your attorneys how you’d prefer them to make decisions, or give them specific instructions which they must follow when making decisions.

Most people leave this page blank – you can just talk to your attorneys so they understand how you want them to make decisions for you.

Preferences

Your attorneys don’t have to follow your preferences but they should keep them in mind.

Section 8 – Certificate Provider

The certificate provider will discuss the lasting power of attorney with the donor to ensure that the donor understands what they are doing and that nobody is forcing them to do it.

The certificate provider should be either:

a) Someone who has known the donor personally for at least 2 years, such as a friend, neighbour, colleague, or former colleague; or
b) Someone with relevant professional skills, such as the donor’s GP, a healthcare professional or a solicitor

What Happens Next?

Following submission of your Lasting Power of Attorney for Property & Financial Affairs questionnaire, a member of the DJS Law Solicitors’ team will contact you and shall provide you with our Letter of Engagement that will contain a quotation, together with our Terms of Business. A signed Letter of Engagement is required to be returned before we commence any work on your Lasting Power of Attorney.