One of the services we can offer at DRA Legal is our Power of Attorney Services. If you become unable to make decisions for yourself due to mental or physical illness in the future then someone will have to make these decisions for you, this is A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). An LPA is a legal document that is drawn up whilst the person making it, also known as the donor, has the mental capacity to do so. When the LPA is registered at the Court of Protection (Office of the Public Guardian) the people who are appointed in the document, also known as the attorneys, have the full legal power to deal with the affairs of the donor.

The main objective of an LPA is to ensure that the donor’s financial and property affairs can be looked after and attended to if the donor has lost mental or physical capability, the LPA is set up to commonly name the spouse or the children as the attorneys. Additionally, the LPA may be put in place to give the power to be able to look after the donor’s personal welfare, this may be because the person is suffering from a gradually debilitating illness. An LPA may also extend to addressing ‘end of life’ wishes.

When making an LPA , if the person has lost the mental capacity it will not be possible to put an LPA in place, however, you may need to make an application for a Deputyship Order, this is where someone is legally responsible for someone who lacks the capacity to be able to make decisions for themselves where there is no power of attorney. The person who is responsible is usually a close family member. Even if an LPA is in place or if a Deputyship Order was made it may not be possible to deal with the sale of a property without the need to make a further application to the Court of Protection.

The Court of Protection is an expensive and time-consuming process which results in more delays, leading to the loss of the sale, at DRA Legal we suggest that it is wise to take specialist advice at the outset. Although the LPA is an very important and powerful document you can alternatively possibly put in place General Power of Attorney, this is a less powerful but very flexible power of attorney for a specific subject such as a purchase of a house.

Need more information on our Powers of Attorney services? Contact our amazing team at DRA Legal and we will answer any question you have! Call us for a free consultation at 01924 601043 or by email at info@dralc.co.uk.