Lasting Power of Attorney for someone with dementia
How do you deal with a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for someone with dementia? There are currently in the region of 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK. It is anticipated that this could rise to 2million by 2051. So, with numbers ever increasing, it is important to plan ahead and put steps in place to help protect the best interests of those individuals.
One crucial step is to sort a Lasting Power of Attorney. This is a legal document that enables the individual to appoint one or more trusted people as their attorneys. These attorneys then have the legal right to make decisions on the person’s behalf at the point when they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves. There are two types of LPAs – one for property and finance matters, and one for personal health and welfare matters.
LPAs – the earlier the better
Talking to someone about memory issues can be a difficult subject to raise. But whether the person in question is a partner, a relative, or even yourself, the sooner you act to put an LPA in place the better. It can be easier to think of it like an insurance policy. You hope that it will never be needed. But, if it is, then you will be eminently grateful you had it in place, and it could make all the difference. An LPA lasts indefinitely, so it can just be in the background like an insurance policy.
Dementia is a progressive disease, so, even if there has been a formal diagnosis, there may still be periods of lucidity during which an LPA can be put in place.
Property & Financial Affairs LPA
This will help ensure that bills continue to be paid. By putting an LPA in place, the elected attorneys can deal with financial issues on the person’s behalf at the point they no longer have mental capacity. Without an LPA, bank accounts can end up frozen making it very hard for loved ones to support the individual.
The Property & Financial Affairs LPA can come into effect as soon as it is registered, or the donor can choose for it to come into effect only once the donor loses mental capacity.
Health and Welfare LPA
If there comes a time when the individual can no longer make decisions about their health, treatment and care, the trusted attorneys can act on their behalf. It is always worth discussing the individual’s long term wishes in advance of the time that they can no longer communicate these effectively. It is important to note that the attorneys can be guided by doctors.
Getting it right
If you are making an LPA for someone who is experiencing memory issues, it is important to get the process right. The number of contested Wills is ever increasing. This is often where the person in question had memory issues and it is believed they were coerced by another party to change their will.
If you are making an LPA for someone with memory issues you will need an independent medical assessment. This is to confirm they are still capable of making your own decisions. Ideally this should be a specialist capacity assessor rather than GP. Having independent advisors and witnesses to the process and keeping a paper trail can help counter any subsequent challenges to the LPA.
It is important to note that the donor is the one providing instructions and not the person enquiring about making an LPA for someone else.
What happens if no LPA is in place?
If there is no LPA in place, then the Court of Protection may appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf. For a loved one to become a Deputy, they would need to make a Deputyship Application to the Court of Protection. This is a lengthy process, that can take many months. It is therefore always better to have established an LPA in advance.
Contact one of our specialist team to set up the Lasting Power of Attorney now for future peace of mind.