Lasting Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document when you give another person or persons the authority to make certain decisions on your behalf. Lasting Powers of Attorney are extremely powerful documents and as such it is important that you are correctly advised in connection to the making of a LPA.

What type of Power of Attorney can I make?

There are two different types of Lasting Power of Attorney:

1. Health and Welfare

This LPA will give your attorney the power to make decisions about things such as:

• Your personal daily routine, for example, washing, dressing, eating
• Medical care you may need
• Moving into a care home should it be required 
• Any life-sustaining treatment

2. Property and Financial Affairs

This LPA will give your attorney the power to make decisions about money and property on your behalf, including:

• Managing bank or building society accounts
• Paying your bills
• Collecting benefits or any pensions
• Selling your home

Outlining your wishes in advance can save relatives the painful duty of making that decision without your guidance about what you may want to happen.

Who should I appoint as Attorneys?

The Attorney will be able to make decisions that affect you and, so they need to be trustworthy and understanding of your needs and wishes to enable them to make the right decisions on your behalf. You can appoint more than one Attorney and decide that they can only act jointly so that they both have to agree on a decision. Or you may decide they can act jointly and severally where, for example, an urgent decision needs to be made but only one Attorney is immediately contactable.

Once you have made your Lasting Power of Attorney, it will be completed and signed by you and your Attorney and certified that you understand its effect and have not been pressured into making it. It will then be registered at the Office of the Public Guardian.

Contact us today

If you wish to discuss any aspects of making a Lasting Power of Attorney, contact Mark Cook on 0191 567 7244 for a free, no-obligation discussion. We are here to assist you.​

Alternatively, you can email us at info@cooklaw.co.uk or complete our free online enquiry form, and we will contact you shortly.