Power of Attorney

Once you have made a Will you will be able to enjoy the reassurance of knowing your affairs will be taken care of after your death. However, you may also wish to set up an arrangement to assign people to look after either your personal and financial affairs or both if you become unable to do so during your lifetime. This is known as a Lasting Power of Attorney and it ensures that your affairs will always be taken care of by one or more of the attorneys selected by yourself to safeguard your interests.

How does a Power of Attorney work?

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document and there are 2 different types in which you can set up:

• Property and Financial Affairs LPA. With this you choose one or more persons to deal with your financial affairs.

• Health and Welfare LPA. With this you choose one or more persons to deal with your personal affairs i.e., healthcare.

Different people can be appointed for each area. Neither of the documents are allowed to be used until they have been registered with the Office of Public Guardian. A Health and Welfare LPA can be used only if you are unable yourself to make decisions about your own welfare and healthcare and the Property and Finance LPA can be used as soon as it's registered, with your permission.