Legal Eagles March 2008

3:33pm Friday 28th March 2008

A change in the law and how it might affect you ..

Solicitor's words of advice Peter Hamilton, of Tinsdills Solicitors, 47 High Street, Sandbach, this week explains the new legislation affecting those who can no longer manage their own affairs through age or illness.

IN October 2007 the Mental Capacity Act 2005 came into force and this has completely changed the rules on Powers of Attorney The old system - Enduring Powers of Attorney Enduring Powers of Attorney that were validly executed before the rule change continue to be effective even if you should lose the ability to manage your own affairs.

The new system - lasting powers of attorney The new system brought in two separate Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA). One appoints attorney(s) to deal with the management of your financial affairs and property and the other to deal with your personal welfare.

You can have different people acting under each power. Both types of LPA must be registered at the Court of Protection before they can be used.

What can my attorney do for me?

Your property and affairs attorneys can make any decision that you could make for yourself about your money property and investments and can access personal information.

Your personal welfare attorneys decide on your welfare, for example, where you live and with whom, deciding what you wear, what you eat and how you spend your day.

Your attorneys cannot make decisions about life sustaining treatment unless you expressly state that in your LPA.

You can put legally binding restrictions and conditions on your attorneys' powers under the LPA and there is a Code of Practice governing their actions.

Why should I bother?

It always pays to plan ahead. By creating LPA's you are in control of choosing who makes decisions for you if you are no longer able to do so yourself. It also makes life much easier for those who care about you.

If you do not have LPA's in place, someone may need to make a court application to be appointed to act on your behalf and this can be costly and time consuming.

For further information contact Peter Hamilton at Tinsdills Solicitors on 01270 761111.

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