We Insure Our Houses, Our Cars, but What About Our Right to Choose? Get an LPA Today
The vast majority of people have insurance ‘just in case’ something happens, house insurance, car insurance etc. We insure our homes, our cars, our most prized possessions, our pets..... We protect ourselves against huge costs should something awful befall us, we take action to protect ourselves and our families. We do this because we know about insurance. As a result, we pay insurance premiums year in and year out and many of us never, ever make a claim, sometimes for fear of attracting a higher premium the following year, sometimes because we haven’t needed to.
This isn’t an insurance policy, you don’t monthly premiums, but it is one of the biggest safeguards you can have in place!
But what about ourselves? In the event of your partner, your spouse, mother or father losing mental capacity, how big a disaster would that be? Do you know what the court of protection is? Do you know that with no Lasting Power of Attorney in place they take control of health and welfare decisions and the bank accounts with the vulnerable persons name on! What protection do you have in place against this eventuality? This isn’t an insurance policy, you don’t monthly premiums, but it is one of the biggest safeguards you can have in place!
Without a valid Lasting Power of Attorney in place, in the event of a loss of mental capacity your family will need to apply to the Court of Protection to have a deputy appointed to deal with everyday matters. This process is extremely slow, expensive and bureaucratic.
The Courts issues fixed cost notices to legal practices detailing the maximum charges that they can levy, starting at £850 plus VAT, plus up to £1500 plus VAT in the first year for management and thereafter £1185 plus VAT. In some instances these costs can be enormous, but even £850 plus VAT is far and above the cost of a Lasting Power of Attorney!
What effect would loss of mental capacity have on you and your family?
What if you or a loved one suffered loss of mental capacity through illness or accident or old age. What if, as a result, all access to funds in their name was stopped? How would you pay the bills, the mortgage, buy food? What if you then had to deal with a government organisation, the Court of Protection and a mountain of bureaucracy in order to be permitted to access your own / your partner’s money? And what if, on top of all this, you were also presented with substantial bills for the privilege to the tune mentioned above?
You've worked hard for you what you have. Make sure you keep it.
It's easy to do - and we can help you every step. In contrast, putting an LPA into place gives you peace of mind that should the worst happen your family are left in the best possible position, can make all important decisions on your behalf and can therefore focus on caring for you, or you for a loved one. You maintain control over your/their accounts and can make sure that health and welfare decisions and property and all financial decisions are made in their best interests by somebody they know and trust.