Does A Lasting Power Of Attorney Need To Be Registered?

Summary

This covers health and care decisions and can only be used once you have lost mental capacity. An attorney can generally make decisions about things such as: * where you should live * your medical care * what you should eat * who you should have contact with * what kind of social activities you should take part in. You can also give special permission for your attorney to make decisions about life-saving treatment. In order for a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) to be valid and used by the Attorney it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. When a Property and Affairs LPA has been registered it can be used straight away. With a Health and Welfare LPA, it can only be used when it is registered and the Donor has lost their mental capacity to make decisions. You may prefer to delay registration until the LPA is actually needed. However, it is often best to register the LPA as soon as possible so as to avoid delays, as it can take 3 -4 months for it to be registered depending upon Office of the Public Guardian backlogs and delays. A minimum period of 6 weeks is required to allow the people who the Donor has chosen to be notified (if applicable) to have the chance to.

Key information

• who you should have contact with
• what kind of social activities you should take part in.
• This covers health and care decisions and can only be used once you have lost mental capacity. An attorney can generally make decisions about things such as:
• where you should live * your medical care * what you should eat * who you should have contact with * what kind of social activities you should take part in.
• You can also give special permission for your attorney to make decisions about life-saving treatment.
• In order for a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) to be valid and used by the Attorney it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. When a Property and Affairs LPA has been registered it can be used straight away. With a Health and Welfare LPA, it can only be used when it is registered and the Donor has lost their mental capacity to make decisions.
• You may prefer to delay registration until the LPA is actually needed. However, it is often best to register the LPA as soon as possible so as to avoid delays, as it can take 3 -4 months for it to be registered depending upon Office of the Public Guardian backlogs and delays. A minimum period of 6 weeks is required to allow the people who the Donor has chosen to be notified (if applicable) to have the chance to raise any objections to.
• Also, registering earlier means that any mistakes or errors can be identified and corrected. If there is a delay in registering and it is found that there are errors then the Donor may no longer have the mental capacity to make a new LPA.
• Should you not have an LPA in place and you become unable to manage your own affairs your loved ones may need to make an application to the Court of Protection to manage your affairs.
• Court of Protection applications can take up to 10 months to complete by which time your affairs could be significantly damaged and the process is far more costly than an LPA. Furthermore the person chosen to deal with your affairs may not be the person you would have chosen and it may even be a court official who can and will charge every time they act for you.
• It is a common misconception that people can make a LPA when the time comes, however it is important to note that in order to make a LPA you need to have the mental capacity to understand the formalities and consequences of making one.
• Attorneys will be able to act on your behalf once the LPA is registered. However if you do not want this then an LPA can be drafted to only come into force if and when it is needed and can be as wide or as restrictive as you wish. You also have the option to defer registration of the LPA until it is required, this can then be registered either by you or by your Attorney(s) on your behalf, please be aware that registration can take approximately 6 to 9 weeks to complete.

Practical guidance

• Source: Does A Lasting Power Of Attorney Need To Be Registered?

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