Lasting Powers of Attorney

 

A personal note from Roger Mallatratt

If you have got this far in your research you probably have an interest in obtaining a LPA for yourself or for a relative and will have a pretty good idea of what it means.

 

You will be aware of what is almost a barrage of recommendation for LPAs from the Press, Government and on radio and TV. They really do make sense.

 

The Office of the Public Guardian website is excellent. It has all the forms you need and loads of information. If you want to do so you can prepare and register them for yourself.

 

I am one of the lawyers at Hadgkiss to whom LPA enquiries are directed. I have been writing them since they began about 7 years ago and I have over 30 years of legal experience behind me.

 

This is not the place to persuade you to have an LPA. It is just a few notes looking at some of the points that arise.

 

The first thing to say is that it is not essential to use a solicitor. The LPA and the other papers involved are all forms. They just have to be completed properly; the rules are on the OPG website and are the same rules that we use. What a solicitor offers is the experience to avoid mistakes, guidance on the few questions that the forms raise and, perhaps of most importance, the saving of the time and responsibility.

 

We offer a fixed price which includes the making of the LPA and all the necessary steps to include registration.

 

I always advise clients to have more than one attorney if possible and if that does not suit then I encourage them to appoint someone else as a possible replacement.

 

It is absolutely essential that you fully trust the people you are appointing. They will be in control of aspects of your life when you are no longer able to exercise control. If you are in any doubt about anyone do not appoint them.

 

Although I am willing to have intended attorneys present for some of the interview that will only be if the person making the LPA, who is my client, wants them to be. If I sense any uncertainty with my client or I learn of any pressure I will advise against the LPA being made.

 

Some enquiries come from relatives who want to be able to stop a family member (usually an older one) from doing something of which they disapprove. Often that behaviour is spending the money they hoped to inherit. Such enquiries may be well meant but LPAs don’t work like that. The maker of the LPA can continue doing whatever they like unless or until they lose mental capacity. Until then all the LPAs in the world cannot interfere.

 

I hope that there has been something worth reading on this page and that I may be able to help you.

 

To contact Roger please call our Moseley office on

0121 449 5050 or email enquiries@hhb-mo.co.uk