When a person loses his mental capacity (eg. stroke, dementia, coma), he will not be able to decide matters for himself. A Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”) is a legal document which allows a person who is 21 years of age or older (the”Donor”‘), to voluntarily appoint one or more persons called donee or donees (or Attorney(s)), […]

Donee can be appointed to cover two broad areas: personal welfare and/or property & affairs matters.

Personal welfare relates to matters such as where the donor should stay and his daily activities, such as:-

• where the Donor should live,
• who the Donor should live with,
• day to day care decisions (e.g. meals),
• medical treatment / care
• what social activities to take part in,
• handling the Donor’s personal correspondence, and

[…]

In general, Property and Affairs relate to financial matters such as managing the Donor’s bank account and property, such as:-

• dealing with property – buying, selling, renting and mortgaging property,
• opening, closing and operating bank accounts,
• receiving dividends, income, or other financial entitlements on behalf of the Donor,
• tax matters,
• paying the rent, mortgage […]
  

A Lasting Power of Attorney is an advance planning document, just like a Will, in which you make it before the happening of an event, i.e. before losing your mental capacity.

It allows you to protect your interests (health, financial matters) by indicating your personal choice of a proxy decision maker (attorney or donee). He is usually […]

The requirements for making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) are:

• You must be at least 21 years old
• You must have the mental capacity to make the LPA
• You must not be an undischarged bankrupt if you wish to make an LPA for property and affairs matters.

For the LPA to be valid, […]

You can cancel your Lasting Power of Attorney after it has been registered if you have the mental capacity to do so.

You must submit your cancellation to the Office of the Public Guardian. You should notify the Donee(s) and anyone else that you may have informed about the LPA that it has been cancelled.

Apart from […]

If you do not make an LPA and subsequently lose your mental capacity to make certain decisions, the Mental Capacity Act allows someone else to apply to the Court to either:

• make the specific decisions for you, or
• appoint one or more persons to be your deputy to make the decision for you.

A Will is a written document that states who you want your assets and money (“the estate”) to go to when you passed away. It is effective only upon death.

A Lasting Power of Attorney has a different purpose, and only effective upon losing your mental capacity.

Mental capacity is the ability to make a decision. A person can lack mental capacity if he has an injury, disorder or condition (eg. stroke, coma) that affects the way his mind works. He will have difficulty making decisions all of the time or that it might take him a long time to make a decision.

This […]