What are the benefits of a Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney can help you plan how your health, wellbeing and financial affairs will be looked after. It allows you to plan in advance:

• The decisions you want to be made on your behalf if you lose capacity to make them yourself.
• The people you want to make these decisions.
• How you want the people to make these decisions.

Having a Lasting Power of Attorney is a safe way of maintaining control over decisions made for you because:

• It has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used.
• You choose someone to provide a ‘certificate’, which means they confirm that you understand the significance and purpose of what you’re agreeing to.
• You can choose who gets told about your Lasting Power of Attorney when it is registered (so they have an opportunity to raise concerns).
• Your signature and the signatures of your chosen attorneys must be witnessed.
• Your attorney(s) must follow the Code of Practice of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and act in your best interests.
• The Office of the Public Guardian provides helpful support and advice.