It has been estimated that there are at least 2 million people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves. This can be as a result of illnesses such as Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of Dementia, Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Creutzfeldt - Jakob Disease (CJD) and HIV-related cognitive impairment. However, there can be other reasons for this lack of capacity, such as brain injuries or other illnesses which may occur unexpectedly in adulthood.
Losing the ability to manage your own affairs in relation to money, property or making decisions about your health or treatment is not something most people would like to think about or consider. However, it is important that for peace of mind a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is made. This allows you to nominate the person or people you trust to make important decisions on your behalf in the future.
You should be aware that you are unable to make an LPA if you no longer have the capacity to make decisions for yourself. At that time, others will make decisions for you and these may not reflect the ideas you had discussed with your loved ones.
You should also be aware that if you are a joint bank account or building society account holder, the accounts may be frozen if ONE of the holders lacks the mental capacity to act and no LPA is in place.
Simply-Wills.co.uk offer the full LPA service. We will take the time to discuss your requirements in relation to both Health & Welfare and the Property & Finances forms. We will complete the forms on your behalf and lodge them with the Office of the Public Guardian once they have been signed and witnessed.
The cost of this service is £100 for one form or £150 for the completion of both forms. This cost is exclusive of the lodgement fee (which is dependent upon your own financial circumstances – and will be discussed with you in more detail, but at this time will be a maximum of £130 per form).
For more information or to arrange a confidential discussion about our LPA service, please click here or call 0800 542 3625.
