Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection Applications in Milton Keynes, Northampton and Watford
A lasting power of attorney lets you choose, while you still can, who would make decisions for you if the day came that you could not make them yourself. Most people put one in place alongside a will and never need it.
The people who need one and do not have it leave their families applying to the Court of Protection instead. That takes months rather than weeks, costs considerably more, and puts the decision about who acts for you in the hands of a judge rather than in yours.
Our solicitors advise on lasting powers of attorney and, where it is already too late for one, on Court of Protection applications. The team includes members of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. We act for clients across Milton Keynes, Northampton and Watford, and the firm also has an office in London.
The Two Types of Lasting Power of Attorney
There are two, and they are separate documents. Most people make both.
Property and Financial Affairs
Covers your money and property: running bank accounts, paying bills, dealing with pensions and benefits, and selling a house if it comes to that. You can allow this one to be used while you still have capacity, which is useful if you would simply rather someone else handled things, or restrict it so it only takes effect if you lose capacity.
Health and Welfare
Covers medical treatment, the care you receive, your daily routine and where you live. This one can only ever be used once you are unable to make the decision yourself. It also lets you say whether your attorney can give or refuse consent to life-sustaining treatment on your behalf, which is a decision worth making deliberately rather than leaving to a form.
Both have to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before they can be used, and registration is not instant. The Office of the Public Guardian says registration takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes in the application, though it can take longer. Making one and leaving it unregistered in a drawer is a common and expensive mistake, and one more reason to put an LPA in place early, before it is needed.
What Happens If You Do Not Have One
There is no automatic right for a husband, wife or adult child to manage someone else’s affairs. Being next of kin gives you no legal authority at all, which surprises most people at the worst possible moment. Banks freeze accounts. Care decisions stall. Nobody can sell the house to pay for care.
The only route is an application to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order. It is slower, considerably more expensive, and a deputy is supervised and has to account for what they do every year. The court also decides who is appointed, which may not be who you would have chosen.
Court of Protection Applications
Where capacity has already gone, we make the application for you. That includes deputyship for property and financial affairs, and for health and welfare where the court will consider it.
We also deal with one-off applications where a deputy is already in place but needs the court’s permission for something specific: making a gift, selling a jointly owned property, or making a statutory will on someone’s behalf. And we advise where there is a dispute, whether about someone’s capacity, about how an attorney or deputy is behaving, or about who should be appointed.
Enduring Powers of Attorney
If you made an enduring power of attorney before October 2007, it remains valid and can still be registered and used. It only covers property and financial affairs, so it is worth reviewing alongside a health and welfare LPA rather than assuming it is enough on its own.
When to Put One in Place
The only requirement is that you have capacity when you sign, which means the right time is always earlier than people think. In practice we see people act at four points:
• Alongside a will, which is the sensible time and the least stressful
• After a diagnosis, while there is still time to do it properly
• When a parent starts to need help and the family realises nobody has authority
• Where someone owns a business and needs decisions to keep being made if they are unavailable
Once capacity is gone, an LPA is no longer an option and the Court of Protection is the only route left.
How Our Power of Attorney Solicitors Can Help
We talk through who you would want to act, whether they should act together or separately, and what you want them to be able to do. We draft both documents, arrange the certificate confirming you understand what you are signing, and register them with the Office of the Public Guardian so they are ready to use.
Acting as someone’s attorney carries real duties and real liability, and most people take it on without being told what those are. We advise attorneys on what they can and cannot do, and on keeping records that stand up if anyone questions them later.
Where there is no LPA, we prepare and make the deputyship application, including the capacity assessment evidence the court requires, and support the deputy with the annual reporting afterwards.
Where there is no obvious person to act, or you would rather not place the responsibility on family, EMW Trust Corporation Limited, our own trust corporation, can be appointed as an attorney or deputy where appropriate, assessed on a case by case basis. Unlike an individual, a trust corporation does not retire, fall ill or die, so the authority you put in place does not fail at the point it is needed.
If you believe someone is misusing their authority, there are steps that can be taken and a body that investigates. We advise on what to do and, where it is warranted, apply to have an appointment revoked.
We publish our fees for lasting powers of attorney, so you can see the cost before you contact us. All prices include VAT:
- One LPA: £600
- Two LPAs: £1,020
- Four LPAs: £1,800
The price includes preparing the LPA, registering it with the Office of the Public Guardian and EMW acting as certificate provider. The Office of the Public Guardian charges a registration fee in addition for each LPA.
Key members of the Powers of Attorney team
TALK TO US
Related EMW Legal Services
BACK TO INDIVIDUALS & FAMILIES OVERVIEW Speak with us
