Making a Will is one thing...

But what if something should happen to you during your lifetime?

Most people acknowledge that it is important to organise their affairs in the event of their death, which is why so many people make a Will these days.

However, practically nobody makes similar provisions to organise their affairs should they become unable to look after them themselves during their lifetime - an ever increasing possibility given the advances in medical care.

Willpower are able to produce a legal document called an LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY (LPA) - a document that enables you to appoint a person or persons to look after your affairs in the event of mental and/or physical incapacity, perhaps due to infirmity in old age, illness or accident. It is important that such arrangements are made when you are fit and healthy since the Law states that such arrangements cannot be

made after the event, which can leave families with all sorts of practicable problems.

You can draw up a LPA to cover the management of your financial affairs (called a Property & Affairs LPA) and you can draw up a second LPA (called a Personal Welfare LPA) to cover the management of personal matters such as medical care – however an Advance Decision is a simpler (and therefore cheaper) way of achieving the latter.

While an LPA is a very powerful document, there are numerous safeguards to prevent its abuse:

An LPA is primarily used to appoint a person to deal with your affairs after the onset of mental and/or physical incapacity. However before the document can be used, certain people (including you) that you elect when drafting the LPA have to be notified and anyone can object if they are not happy with the reasons why the document is being brought into effect.

You can include restrictions on what the people you appoint can and cannot do under the authority of the documents and you can include advice or guidance on how you would like them to act.

When the LPA is signed, a certificate must be completed by a lawyer, doctor, social worker or an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate to confirm that the person making the document understands the meaning of the LPA and the consequences of it. Unlike many providers Willpower will be providing this certificate FREE OF CHARGE to clients who draw up their LPA with the company.

Like your Will, a LPA can be updated at any time should your circumstances change.

** Lasting Powers of Attorney come into effect on 1^st October 2007 and Willpower will be taking instructions to draw up LPA documents from 1^st September 2007**

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    Last Modified Saturday September 01, 2007