Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney
By making a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) you can plan for future circumstances by appointing one or more people you trust to make decisions on your behalf regarding health, care or other personal welfare matters.
It is possible that one day you may unexpectedly lose the capacity to make decisions about your health and welfare. This may occur due to Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, or if you were unconscious following an accident. In these circumstances, the Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney would enable someone else to make decisions for you.
Any Attorney(s) appointed by you will only be able to exercise their power following registration of the Lasting Power of Attorney and when you cannot make any decisions for yourself. Common decisions which your attorneys would be able to make on your behalf include:
- Consent or refusal of types of health care and treatments for medical conditions.
- Deciding if you should continue living in your own home, (with or without social services support) or if it would be more appropriate for you to be moved in to a residential nursing home or other alternative accommodation.
If you would like your Attorney (or Attorneys) to be able to make decisions about ‘life-sustaining treatment’, you must give them the express power to make such decisions at the time of writing the LPA. Attorney(s) may also be given power to make decisions about any day-to-day aspects of your life, such as your diet, your dress or other part of your normal routine.
It is ultimately up to you to decide how much power you want to give your Attorneys in the event you can not make decisions yourself.
How much does it cost to make a Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney?
The cost of making a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney is £400.00 plus VAT. Home visits are also possible for elderly or infirm clients at no extra cost in most circumstances.
Before a Lasting Power of Attorney can be used, it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).
Unlike some other firms, we do not make any additional charge either for registering Lasting Powers of Attorney or for acting in the Attorney with the OPG role of “certificate provider”
The OPG charge a fee of £82.00 for dealing with the registration of a Lasting Power of Attorney.
How to make a Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney
For more information or to make an appointment please contact us.
