Powers of Attorney

Too often, powers of attorney are considered at a later stage in life but no matter what age you are, making considerations about how your financial affairs and medical needs will be met in the future if you lose capacity, is important. We encourage our clients to consider preparing Lasting Powers of Attorney at the same time they turn their mind to preparing a Will with us.

It is important to consider the fact that no individual has to ability to make decisions on behalf of another without first being appointed as their attorney under either a Lasting Power of Attorney or Enduring Power of Attorney or as a court-appointed Deputy (see below) – even married couples or those in a civil partnerships are unable to make decisions for their spouse or partner without these authorities in place.

Lasting Powers of Attorney enable attorneys to make decisions relating to your financial affairs as well as your personal health and welfare on your behalf if you become unable to make those decisions yourself. Your attorneys can step in when needed to ensure your affairs remain in good order and to protect your assets together with articulating your personal wishes when it comes to the type of medical treatment you receive.

• We can help you consider your options at an early stage and put documents in place to ensure you’re supported by the people you choose if you lose capacity. By getting to know you and your personal circumstances, we can provide pragmatic and frank advice about potential issues that may arise should you select unsuitable attorneys
• We’ll ensure you understand the significance and importance of the documents and the level of authority being placed on your attorneys to help you make reasoned decisions regarding who you appoint into the role and importantly, how they are to make decisions on your behalf
• Enduring Powers of Attorney were the predecessors to Lasting Powers of Attorney. It is not possible to create new Enduring Powers of Attorney but those already put in place continue to be legally effective. We can assist your attorneys to register the document with the Office of the Public Guardian so they can assist you in the event of mental incapacity
• We can prepare specialist Lasting Powers of Attorney enabling your attorney to manage your business affairs should you need to separate this decision-making process from your own personal matters.
• It may be that you need to secure short-term support from an attorney to assist you with a particular transaction, for example, completing on a property sale or purchase on your behalf while you are out of the country. In these situations, we will prepare a General Power of Attorney as a solution
• We appreciate that appointing the right attorneys can be a very difficult process and you may not be able to select appropriate attorneys from amongst your family or friends. In such circumstances, it might be appropriate to appoint a partner from within our specialist team to act in this role – ensuring a professional and objective approach is taken to managing your financial affairs

Our approach
All of our advice is borne out of listening closely to your individual circumstances. We understand that facing up to the consequences of mental capacity issues can be a stressful and emotional time, and we’re here to put in place a plan which works for you affording you peace of mind.

The way we help you
We can act in a number of ways, from an advisory role around the creation of powers of attorney and ensuring they are drafted in a suitable way to cater for your needs, right through to stepping in as your professional attorney in the absence of family or close friends.