A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a document that gives your chosen attorney(s) the power to make important decisions on your behalf if you’re ever unable to do so yourself, often due to illness or injury. Without an LPA in place, these decisions will be made by social services and the state, leaving even your nearest and dearest unable to look after you. There are two types of LPA, each giving your attorney(s) a different set of powers – in this guide we’ll explain what a Health & Welfare LPA is and what sort of things your attorney will be able to do for you. If you’d like to learn more about a Property & Financial Affairs LPA click here.
What is a Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?
A Health & Welfare LPA gives your attorney the power to make decisions on your behalf regarding your health and welfare if you’re ever unable to do so yourself. If one day you’re left vulnerable due to illness or injury, you’ll want to be looked after by people you know and trust – or at least give them the power to have an input in how you are cared for. If you don’t make a Health & Welfare LPA, social services will have full control and your loved ones won’t be able to intervene. An LPA must be made in advance whilst you still have sufficient mental capacity, but it won’t come into effect until you need it.
Ylenia Angeli, a retired nurse, was arrested for acting on her mother’s wishes and making decisions about how and where she should be cared for without an LPA in place. Click here to read more about her story – as well as Kate Garraway’s struggles due to not having an LPA for her husband.
What Will My Health & Welfare Attorney Be Able to Do?
Your attorney will be able to make decisions (or help you make decisions) about things like:
- your day-to-day care (such as what you wear and eat)
- where you live
- your medical care
Your attorney will usually have a say in what medical treatments you should or shouldn’t receive. If you would like to take more control over your future medical care, you can make a Living Will and specify what treatments you would or wouldn’t like to have.
What Won’t My Health & Welfare Attorney Be Able to Do?
Your attorney must keep your finances separate from their own (unless you already have joint bank accounts or assets together) and all decisions and payments must be made in your best interests. If you choose a separate attorney to manage your finances, your health & welfare attorney may need to get permission from them when they need to spend your money. Your attorney may need to use your money to buy you new clothes, haircuts, to decorate your home or room, or to fund trips and holidays for you.
Your attorney won’t be able to change your Will, but they can apply for a Statutory Will if you need one. Your attorney also won’t be able to make any decisions regarding your property and finances – this includes accessing insurance policies, bank accounts, and utility bills in your sole name; making decisions regarding your pensions, benefits, tax and debts; and selling or buying property on your behalf. If you would like your attorney to be able to make these decisions you’ll need to make a Property & Finances LPA as well.
How Do I Make a Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney?
Our team of experts can help you make a Health & Welfare LPA and we offer a discount when taking out a Property & Finances LPA at the same time. We’ll guide you through the process and register your LPA with The Office of Public Guardian – once registered, a Health & Welfare LPA will only come into effect if you ever lose the mental capacity to make decisions for yourself. Please note that you cannot make an LPA once you have lost mental capacity, so you must get these important documents in place long before you may need them.
The Bottom Line
There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney, each designed to give your chosen attorney a different set of powers. A Health & Welfare LPA enables your attorney(s) to make decisions regarding your day-to-day care, living arrangements, and medical care. If you would like someone to also have the power to make decisions regarding things like your insurance policies, bank accounts, and property, you’ll need to make a Property & Finance LPA as well. We offer a discount when taking out both LPAs together, making this the most popular and cost-effective option.
Here at Michael Usher Wills & Estate Planning, we’ve been helping our local community with LPAs for over 30 years. Please get in touch and our friendly team of experts will answer all of your questions for free. Call us on one of the numbers below or book a FREE consultation here. We look forward to helping you and making sure you and your family are fully protected.
Camberley: 01276 691979
Basingstoke: 01256 637007
COVID-19 Update
Due to the current situation, you are now able to make an LPA with us remotely for your own safety and convenience. The article below details how this works for our Wills service but the process is very similar when making an LPA. The only difference is that you require just one witness when signing your LPA – we can act as your witness if you need us to. If you would like to make your LPA remotely, click on the article below for more information or call us and we’ll explain how it works.
