There may come a time in your life when you are unable to manage your financial affairs or personal welfare, owing to some form of incapacity and you will need someone to act on your behalf. Life Protection Ltd can help.

Sometimes illness or loss of mobility can make managing your affairs difficult

• An elderly relative losing capacity is difficult enough for loved ones to deal with, without the added worry that finances are becoming muddled
• The prospect of unpaid bills can cause unnecessary stress and anxiety, and delay someone's recovery
• Having someone to manage your affairs who you know and trust, and more importantly who understands you, is far more comforting than relying on a court official
• Even the young can encounter problems due to accident or illness

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What if I am unable to manage my affairs?

There may come a time in your life when you are unable to manage your financial affairs or personal welfare, owing to some form of incapacity, and you might need someone to act on your behalf.

Even when we are young, we can find ourselves incapacitated owing to illness or injury, and it can be invaluable having a reliable person who is able to manage your personal affairs and remove the anxiety at a time when you most need peace of mind.

Similarly, as we get older, the need for an attorney increases as we are more prone to illness and injury.

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Power of attorney

There are different types of powers of attorney. The type you will need will depend on your circumstances. This is a brief overview about the different types, but please do get in touch for a free consultation about which one (if any) you will need:

General/ordinary power of attorney

This power can only be used while you still have mental capacity. It will allow your chosen person (who is called an attorney) to make decisions about any property or financial affairs. You can specify what decisions they make too. This is useful if you are going away for a period of time while going through something like a house purchase or sale.

Enduring power of attorney

These are an older type of power which are no longer available. If you had one signed before they were phased out then you can still register it and if you already have one registered, it will still be valid. They can only be used when you have lost mental capacity and they can only control your property and financial affairs, they cannot be used for your health and welfare decisions.

Lasting power of attorney

These are the newest type and are often abbreviated to LPA. There are 2 types of LPA's. One covers property and financial affairs. This can be used as soon as it has been registered as well as when you have lost capacity. You choose the scope of decisions your attorneys can make and how they make their decisions about your affairs. You can have more than one type of this power if you have a business that you would like to appoint different people to compared to your personal affairs.

The 2nd one is a health and welfare LPA. This covers all of your health and welfare decisions, including the option to make decisions about life sustaining treatment or even which care home you should go to.

Both of these LPAs have to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian to ensure they are valid.