Lasting Power of Attorney

Michael Kuipers of 'LPA Made Simple' came to talk to Whitchurch WI as an additional speaker at the June 2024 meeting. This company are specialists in creating and registering Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) documents.

Michael explained that creating an LPA had two principles:

• preparing for the worst
• avoiding having to cope with difficult decisions at a time of distress

There are two types of LPA:

• property and affairs
• health and welfare 

Michael suggested that it was important to create both types of LPA to be safe and secure. Once created, they must be stored somewhere secure, such as in a safe deposit, in a fire-proof safe, or lodged with a solicitor. Don't keep your LPAs in your bread bin!

He conveyed a personal story of his mother dying during a cruise off the coast of Australia, and all the paperwork and difficulties that involved. The insurance company did pay out, but this was months later and immediate expenses had to be paid up front. 

An LPA has to be set up while the person to whom it applies has the mental capacity to understand what they are doing and is able to make the necessary decisions. An LPA cannot be created if a person is deemed incapable of making the decisions which are part of the process. If there is no LPA, the interests of a person no longer able to make their own decisions and manage their own affairs come under the Court of Protection. Michael explained that working with the Court of Protection could be expensive and difficult.

He gave as an example of one of the difficulties that could occur without an LPA in place. If one half of a couple with a joint bank account was declared mentally incapable, the bank could freeze the account or restrict access to it to the other half of the couple. If no other access to funds were in place this could make the situation very difficult.

An LPA can be set up by oneself, with only the cost of registration – currently £82 per LPA per person.* A solicitor can create an LPA. Michael stated that the cost of creating an LPA with a solicitor would be higher than using LPA Made Simple, because they are not specialists in the same way.

 

*(Personal note: there may also be additional charges when setting up an LPA oneself, such as the doctor made a charge for statements with regard to mental and physical capacity when I created an LPA for my mother – Editor.)