Lasting powers of attorney advice
If you were to have an accident or suffer an illness which made it difficult for you to sign your name this would cause difficulties with a number of day-to-day tasks that we tend to take for granted. Furthermore, if you were to suffer a stroke or from Alzheimer’s disease you may find yourself with an impaired mental ability to deal with your financial affairs.
Generally speaking, many people assume that their partners or family will simply be able to take over responsibility for dealing with these situations but unfortunately this is not the case. Unless you already have in place a Lasting Power of Attorney it will often be necessary for an application to be made to the Court of Protection for someone to be appointed as a deputy to deal with your affairs on your behalf. This is a lengthy and expensive administrative process. It can be avoided by making a Lasting Power of Attorney which is a relatively straightforward document authorising one or more people to act on your behalf.
The document is usually drawn up giving a general authority to the Attorney to carry out any transaction on your behalf or it can be restricted, for example to prevent the sale of a house. It is of course most important that you appoint someone in whom you have full trust and confidence. Usually this will be a relative, friend, or if appropriate, we can act for you. You may choose to appoint more than one person to act as your Attorney. Indeed, if your Attorney is also the joint owner of your assets with you, it is particularly advisable to have a second Attorney.
