When you lose capacity (From York Press)

When you lose capacity

11:44am Tuesday 2nd March 2010 in

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IT IS a harsh fact of life that an increasing number of people lose their mental capabilities as they get older and recent estimates suggest that one in three people are likely to suffer from some form of dementia.

It doesn’t just happen in old age either, particularly if a younger person is involved in an accident. So who will look after your affairs if you cannot?

If you do nothing, a relative, friend or professional has to make an application to the Court of Protection for somebody to be appointed as a deputy to manage your affairs. It is a slow, cumbersome and, above all, expensive exercise. You can, however, avoid such a risk by making a Lasting Power of Attorney now. A Power of Attorney is a written document, which gives somebody else authority to act on your behalf.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a special power because it is a power that continues even if somebody has lost mental capacity. There are two types of LPA, the Property and Affairs LPA and the Personal Welfare LPA. As the name suggests, a Property and Affairs LPA is concerned with the management of assets, whereas a Personal Welfare LPA gives others authority to direct what treatment you should be given in certain circumstances, how you should be looked after and the like.

You can choose one or more attorneys to act on your behalf, be they relatives, friends or professionals, and you can give them authority so that they can act either individually or jointly. Usually, people give their attorneys general power to act in all matters but, again, you can restrict what they can and cannot do. Broadly, you can create the structure that you wish.

You can choose when the power starts to be effective: for instance, it could be immediately or, alternatively, it may never be operative unless you were to lose mental capacity. LPAs are straightforward documents for your solicitors to prepare. They are an easy and inexpensive way of avoiding a potentially troublesome and very costly matter so, if you have not prepared yours yet, see a solicitor soon.

Richard Watson is a partner and head of the private client department at Crombie Wilkinson Solicitors