A recent report from Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE) – a national organisation of lawyers who provide specialist advice for people planning for later life – suggests that the vast majority of people in the UK have made no provision for who will make decisions for them in the event of future physical or mental incapacity.
The report reveals that while 39% of people have made a Will to appoint someone (the Executor) to deal with their financial affairs post-death, only 7% have made a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) to appoint someone (the Attorney) to deal with important decisions during their lifetime.
Many people assume that their spouse, civil partner or close family members will be able to deal with their finances, and make medical and care decisions, just by virtue of being “next of kin”, but this is simply not the case.
This means that control over property, savings and investments, and decisions relating to medical treatment and care, could be left in the hands of third parties such as social workers, doctors or the Court of Protection in the event of accident, illness or dementia.
Even those who have put an LPA in place may still be at risk, due to not taking qualified legal advice in the preparation of the documents.
The Private Client department of Buckles Solicitors LLP advises on and prepares LPAs, and also offers a free legal documents review service to help ensure that any LPAs which are in place are actually valid.
