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Lasting Power of Attorney
If for any reason you should lose
your mental capacity, you may not be able to look after your legal
affairs yourself.
Should you suffer
this misfortune, your personal matters will be looked after by the Court
of Protection in London, unless you have made an Lasting Power of
Attorney.
An individual can no longer appoint an Attorney
under The Enduring Power of Attorney Act 1985. An Enduring Power of
Attorney created before the introduction of the Lasting Power of
Attorney on the 1st October 2007 remain valid but no new powers can be
created.
In their place the Mental Capacity Act 2002 has
created two new forms of Power of Attorneys namley:-
(1) A Lasting Power of Attorney in relation to
Property and Affairs and
(2) A Lasting Power of Attorney in relation to
Welfare matters.
By drawing up
one or both of these documents, you can appoint a person or persons (very
often a spouse, children, family members or close friends) to act on
your behalf should the need ever arise.
It makes sense to
draw up this document at the same time as your will because very often
those chosen as attorneys are the same people who have already been
appointed as your executors.
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