LPA

[enaid]

LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney)


What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document. It allows you to appoint someone that you trust as an ‘attorney’ to make decisions on your behalf. Attorneys can make decisions for you when you no longer wish to or when you lack the mental capacity to do so.
A Lasting Power of Attorney cannot be used until it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.


What is a Lasting Power of Attorney? : Directgov - Government, citizens and rights

[enaid]

Re: LPA

Myself and my sister have recently done this for our dad. It costs £120 and is fairly straightforward and takes about 12-14 weeks in all depending on how busy the Office of the Public Guardian is at the time (this is where the LPA is registered), they do update you with time scales on their website Office of the Public Guardian.

Once registered you will have to go to the banks etc with the documents so they can amend their records, accounts etc. Be warned you must be prepared for them as they may not be prepared for you. By this I mean not all staff you will deal with have any idea what an LPA is let alone how to deal with it and NEVER let them keep the original documents under any circumstance.
Enaid x

[Caspar]

Re: LPA

For people who have bouts of mental illness which come and go, could a LPA be registered for this situation. This would mean a carer could act on their behalf when the person was ill, but the person could deal with their own affairs when well? Could it work like that?

[enaid]

Re: LPA

Just a bit of info about holding joint accounts, the banks are getting quite keen on this apparently, now they are beginning to get heir heads round LPAs and how to deal with them.

An LPA property and affairs, or valid EPA, is also important because bank accounts are generally set up to operate on the condition that the person or people in whose name the account is held is capable of managing that bank account. For example, if an account is held in joint names but one of the account holders becomes unable to understand or manage the account, the bank could freeze all transactions and only release funds once someone produces an LPA, a valid EPA or a deputy order for the person who has lost capacity. This means that the person with capacity is also unable to get access to the funds in the account.