LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY (LPA)

TO DO:

-Check if an LPA was set up
-End any LPAs

If your loved one is not able to make informed decisions about their care then they may have asked you and/or someone in their family or a close friend to take on the role of having power of attorney and signing a legal document known as an LPA.

Put simply, an LPA is something people do and is considered sensible in the event that they become ill so someone else whom they trust can make decisions on their behalf in the event of an illness or death. There is no limit in England and Wales to how many people you can have on your LPA but mostly it’s between two and four.

There are two types of LPAs: one for health and welfare, the other for property and financial affairs. You can appoint different people for each ones but to keep things simple it is easier to just appoint the same people to do both.

If you’re reading this in advance of someone wanting to set up an LPA we suggest you take some legal advice on it.

The LPA contract must be entered into whilst the patient still has the full mental capacity to agree to it and they will need to be able to sign the paperwork in the presence of a witness.

Once the contract is signed, those who are on the LPA have the ability to make choices on the patient’s behalf if that person’s decision-making capabilities are lost.

The role of LPA ends when the patient dies; at that point you, or your lawyer (if you are using one) should get in touch with the Office of Public Guardian and send them a death certificate to announce the end of the LPA. More information on how to end LPAs is on the government website.

The Office of the Public Guardian's details are:
customerservices@publicguardian.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 456 0300

Office of the Public Guardian
PO Box 16185
Birmingham
B2 2WH

Links:

Office of the Public Guardian
Find a lawyer

Photo: Will Hulbert Photography