You have the power to plan for your future. Our Power of Attorney services offer peace of mind that you can choose someone you trust to look after you and act in your best interests.
What is a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is a legal document, which allows you to give permission to someone else to act for you under certain circumstances – usually if you become unable to make decisions for yourself because of age, an accident or an illness like dementia. It allows you to entrust your key decisions to a friend, relative or a professional you trust.
There are different forms of Power of Attorney. These can only be put into place whilst you have mental capacity to do so. The most common is the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) which is ongoing with no expiry date, even if you subsequently lose mental capacity. There are two types, a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and a Health and Welfare LPA.
Where it will only be needed for a limited time, for example when a person is travelling abroad or recovering from an illness, then an option is the Ordinary or General Power of Attorney. This only applies to people who are still able to make decisions for themselves and, if mental capacity is lost, it will expire.