A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document where you can name people (referred to as your attorneys) to help you make decisions and assist with you finances and/or health and welfare.
These documents are very important to put in place whether you are a civilian or army personnel, but this could be crucial for those with an overseas posting, those away for extended periods of time and those entering combat zones.
There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney:
- Health and Welfare – this can only be used if you lose mental capacity. It grants the authority for your attorney(s) to be able to make decisions such as what care you may require, where you live and consent to, or refuse medical treatment.
- Property and Affairs – your named attorney(s) would be able to deal with things such as managing your bank accounts, paying bills, selling or purchase property and reporting your tax affairs. This can be used whilst you have mental capacity (unless you say otherwise), and if you were to lose mental capacity.
You can elect to put in place one or both types of Lasting Power of Attorney.
Having a Lasting Powers of Attorney in place will provide your loved ones with the authority to manage your affairs in the event of lack of mental capacity, illness or where your military duties may prevent contact. It also provides you with the comfort and peace of mind that decisions can be made in your absence. Without an LPA in place, should the need arise, an application to the court for a Deputy to be appointed may be required. This may result in significant costs and delay, and the applicant may not be the person that you would have chosen yourself to deal with your affairs.
Lasting Powers of Attorney are lifetime documents and will only provide authority during your lifetime, and the attorney(s) authority will come to an end immediately upon death. It is therefore also important that you also have a Will in place, to determine who is responsible for dealing with your estate upon death, and who inherits from you.
If you do not have family members who would be appropriate to appoint as your attorneys, then you could also choose to appoint a professional attorney, such as the Nockolds Trust Corporation.
If you want to discuss Lasting Powers of Attorney in more detail and meet with one of our qualified team members, please do give us a call on 01279 755 777 or fill out our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch.