Setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is one of the best moves you can make in terms of forward planning, besides making a Will.
An LPA lets you legally appoint someone you trust — a spouse, adult child, relative, good friend, or even professional donees — to manage your properties and affairs in the unfortunate event that you suffer a loss of mental capacity.
You can appoint up to 2 donees that you entrust with decision-making powers in the aspects of your personal welfare and/or your property and financial matters. Your donees must agree to the appointment.
Setting up an LPA requires you to fill out a 12-page form. You must get this certified, which Yuen Law can do for you. We also offer guidance and advice if you require it before you complete the LPA form.
Should you wish to appoint more than 2 donees and/or give your donees specific legal powers over certain decisions they can make for you, you must appoint a lawyer to draft the LPA for you.
For personal welfare matters, the donee will be responsible for how and where the person is to live and how he or she would be taken care of. Property and financial matters include what your assets can be used for. An LPA can grant the donee(s) powers over only one or both aspects. A donee can execute your wishes or decide for instance, to sell your home to pay for your long-term care in a nursing home.
This can preempt severe inconveniences, such as unnecessary legal expenses and family feuds over who should decide for you. By having an LPA, you would save your family members the hassle of applying for Deputyship, which will give you the legal right to act on your behalf should you lose mental capacity. The Deputyship application process is much more complicated and involved, with the Court ultimately deciding on the application approval. A Deputyship application may also be contested by family members, and such complications can escalate costs.
An LPA is different from a general Power of Attorney, which assigns someone else powers to act or transact for that person, when he or she is not mentally incapacitated.
Yuen Law has extensive experience helping clients in personal and family matters such as Lasting Powers of Attorney and Power of Attorney. Our advice extends beyond just legal aspects of an LPA, and we will service you in a personal and discreet manner. If you’re considering matters holistically, do also consider drafting a Will if you haven’t already done so.
We invite you to come talk to us. Do contact us to make an appointment.
