Lasting Power of Attorney

Do you need advice on creating a Lasting Power of Attorney? The Private Client team at First Law Solicitors can help.

The increase in life expectancy over the last 120 years has been one of humanity’s greatest achievements. However, it comes at a price. Reaching old age increases your chance of losing your mental capacity through diseases such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Without a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place, your loved ones may find themselves in the difficult position of not being able to manage your financial affairs. In addition, they may be left in the dark as to your wishes regarding your health and wellbeing.

Our Private Client Solicitors can advise you on what an LPA should include, the instructions you need to document, and the qualities of a good attorney. We can then draft a legally accurate LPA that clearly sets out the powers you wish your attorneys to have concerning managing your financial affairs and health and wellbeing. Our team is alive to the fact that if the scope of an attorney’s powers is ambiguous, this can put them at risk of being investigated by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). Therefore, we ensure that your LPA clearly sets out the scope of your attorney’s authority and specific limits on their powers.

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
An LPA grants a trusted person, known as an ‘attorney,’ the authority to make important decisions on behalf of the person creating the LPA, referred to as the ‘donor’. A donor creates an LPA while they still have mental capacity to ensure they have a plan in place should illness or old age leave them unable to make decisions for themselves.

There are two main types of LPAs:
Property and Financial Affairs LPA -grants the attorney the power to manage the donor's finances, property, and related matters, including bank accounts, investments, and property sales.

Health and Welfare LPA - gives the attorney the authority to make decisions about the donor's healthcare, living arrangements, and medical treatment when the donor is unable to express their wishes.

Creating an LPA allows individuals to ensure that someone they trust can make decisions in their best interests should they lose mental capacity. LPAs are subject to legal oversight and registration by the OPG to protect the donor's interests and prevent abuse of power.

Can an LPA be revoked?
As long as the donor has mentally capacity, they can revoke the LPA at anytime. The donor must notify the attorneys and the Public Guardian that the LPA has been revoked to make the revocation effective.

How First Law Solicitors can help

Listen to what you want to achieve
As Solicitors, our first job is to listen. We will not give you an off-the-shelf solution, instead, we will tailor our legal advice to your objectives and circumstances.

Ensure you understand the affects of an LPA
Our Private Client Solicitors avoid legal jargon and are happy to answer all your questions regarding what is involved in creating an LPA.

Draft the LPA
By instructing us to draft your LPA, you can be confident that we have listened to what you want, and the required documents are drafted meticulously and reflect your instructions.

Advise attorneys
Our team can provide intelligent, practical advice to LPA attorneys, including in cases where the OPG has launched an investigation following a complaint.

What our clients say

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for all the care and concern you have shown me, and for working tirelessly to ensure that the law worked in our favour. If it were not for your analytical skills and knowledge, the matter wouldn’t have been settled by now. Thanks once again for your legal advice, time, and efforts.

Please fill in our contact form or call us on +44 161 224 4066 to discuss your trust matter.