I recently finished a book series in which the mental capacity of one of the side characters slowly declined throughout. His story was truly heartbreaking, but in the end he was able to make his own choice about how he wanted to move forward, with the help of those closest to him.
It made me think about the possibility of a future in which I myself am unable to make a fully informed decision, and how scary that could be. Then, as if by magic, an email landed in my inbox, talking about Lasting Power of Attorney.
Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows a person to nominate someone to take care of their affairs and make decisions on their behalf, at a time when they are no longer able to. This could be due to something like a serious stroke, dementia, or even an accident leading to a coma; something that impairs your ability to make decisions for yourself.
A key piece of information is that this legal document can only be set up while you still have the mental capacity to do so, and so you can’t leave it until the last minute because by then it might be too late. Having ‘mental capacity’ essentially means that you are able to make your own decisions as well as understand the consequences of those decisions.
It’s hard to think about worst case scenarios, but being sensible and level headed about it now can make things easier for both ourselves and our loved ones in the future.
Banks have a tendency to make accessing your own money a difficult process even at the best of times, so imagine that your family needs access to your money in order to pay for your own care? That can be a very long and difficult process, unless you already have someone legally named as your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).
You can also give your LPA the ability to make decisions on your health and care, which could speed up processes and help make choices for your future that are informed by your previous wishes.
It’s not as easy as just asking someone, as to make it legally binding there are some processes to follow, as well as fees to pay. There is a really great guide on the Age UK website that you can find
here, which talks you through each step of the process.
Gov.uk also has a really handy page set up with links to all the forms and information you could need, and that can be found
here.
You can fill it all in and submit it all yourself, but if you are nervous about making a mistake or just want some extra advice, then you can appoint a solicitor to deal with it for you (although this will obviously come at an extra cost to you).
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