What is Power of Attorney?
Power of attorney enables your parent to give power to another person to look after their affairs when they no longer have capacity to do so, for example, if they have a stroke, develop dementia or any other illness which impairs their ability to make decisions.
There are two forms of Power of Attorney and usually people will take out both:
1. Property and Financial Affairs Power of Attorney
The Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney enables people to deal with someone’s finances, for example invest money on their behalf, pay bills and even sell their property
2. Health and Welfare Power of Attorney
The Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney enables people to make decisions on someone’s behalf about where they live, who looks after them and their on-going medical care. They can also give their Attorney power to make decisions about life sustaining treatment
Establish Power of Attorney before your parent loses capacity
Lasting Powers of Attorney can only be made whilst your parent fully understands what they are doing
When making the Power of Attorney, a person will need to be nominated as their “Certificate Provider”, whose role is to establish that your parent or relative understands what they are signing and that no pressure is being put on them to sign and that the Attorneys are fit and able to act in that capacity
What happens if you need a Power of Attorney, but you haven’t got one?
If your older relative has already lost capacity and had no Power of Attorney in place, then an application will have to be made to the Court of Protection for a Deputy to be appointed. This deputy can either be a relative or a professional
Whereas the Attorney your parent has chosen can look after all their affairs without having to report to the Office of the Public Guardian, a Deputy has to report annually and prepare an account of all monies received and spent
Read more on why you should consider Power of Attorney
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