Lasting Power of Attorney Health and Welfare
Make an LPA For Health and Welfare Decisions To Protect Your Wishes About Care
The Health and Welfare LPA is designed to give your designated attorneys the power to look after your medical, domestic and social issues, according to your wishes. It covers decisions about those areas related to your health and care: from your diet and the medical treatment you receive, to where you live and your daily routine. It differs from the Property and Financial Affairs LPA in that attorneys can only act on your behalf, regarding your health and care, after you have lost capacity.
The Benefits of Having an LPA For Health and Welfare in Place
The legal process of setting up lasting powers of attorney gives us the framework to ensure that our wishes for our later years can be respected and more importantly, acted upon by the people we trust to have your best interests at heart.
If you don’t have your health and welfare power of attorney in place when you lose mental capacity, your family members may find that they have no power to make decisions on your behalf. At LPA Now, we believe that most people would prefer to ensure that their family members, chosen friends, marriage or civil partners are able to carry out their wishes and advance decisions about care arrangements and wellbeing as their own mental capacity begins to wane.
Even today, too many people assume that their spouse will automatically be able to deal with their, individual or joint bank accounts and pensions. Sadly, this is not the case. Similarly, for decisions about healthcare, without the legal document that delegates lasting power of attorney (LPA) to family or chosen friends, decisions about care homes and medical treatment may be taken out of their hands and diverge from the donor's wishes. Without an LPA, backed up by the Office of the Public Guardian, your chosen attorneys won’t have the authority to carry out your wishes legally.
The only alternative arrangement is an enormous headache. Someone close to you will have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a Deputy. This process can take months and it costs a great deal more than the much simpler LPA. There is also an annual fee that your deputies will have to pay to the Court of Protection. In addition to all of that, they will have to compile and submit an annual report of their actions.
LPA Now specialises in helping individuals and families get their health and wellbeing LPAs in place, correctly, first time. Our specialist lasting power of attorney, health and welfare guidance has helped dozens of families avoid some of the pitfalls of submitting an incorrect LPA: Health and Welfare Form to the OPG. Thus, we have saved many families money on unnecessary solicitors' fees and rejected applications. Call us today to get your health and wellbeing LPA in place in good time.
LPA’s are created for individuals. You may want to consider a Mirrored LPA, to protect you and your partner. You can find the answers to many common questions about lasting power of attorney here.
