A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is considered an essential document for someone who is unable to make decisions about their own affairs and their care, but it must be created while they can still make these decisions. For example, a person with dementia or Alzheimer’s who is likely to experience cognitive decline and eventually be unable to make the best choices for themselves, or just someone in palliative care and nearing end of life, may appoint their adult child or someone else that they trust to be their Lasting Power of Attorney. This means when the time comes, their loved one is legally allowed to make important decisions on their behalf, with their best interests in mind.
There are several types of Power of Attorney depending on a person’s needs, but here, we are demystifying the Lasting Power of Attorney used for health and care decisions. If you are curious to know what this is, how it works and in what circumstances you may require one, we are sharing everything you need to know. We will also detail the role of the Lasting Power of Attorney, how you can make one, whether or not you need a solicitor for this, the difference between the various types of Power of Attorney, who you can choose to be your Lasting Power of Attorney, what their responsibilities and rights are, and where you can access legal support.
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A Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document created to give someone the authority to make decisions on behalf of another person, usually an older loved one. This is only used if they no longer have the mental capacity to make important decisions for themselves.
For clarity, there are 3 different types of Power of Attorney documents – Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), and Ordinary Power of Attorney (OPA) – which all have different specifications for when they can be used. When we talk about a Health and Welfare Power of Attorney, this refers to the Lasting Power of Attorney, which grants the ability to make decisions for a person due to a health condition, such as an illness or in the event of an accident. Decisions like where they get treatment, what type of medical care they will receive, and what their daily routine should look like are all the responsibility of a Lasting Power of Attorney in the event that a person cannot make these decisions themselves.
Without a document like this, any health decisions would be made by social workers instead, even if the person has children or a spouse – remember, without a Lasting Power of Attorney document, your spouse does not automatically have the right to make decisions like this for you.
You can read more about Power of Attorney documents in our guide: How To Get Power Of Attorney For Elderly Parents
There are a number of reasons it is beneficial to obtain a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney, such as:
A Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney can be incredibly helpful for family members when a person is in the late stages of a health condition, and cannot decide the specifics of their own care. Ideally, you should arrange a Lasting Power of Attorney while you are still in good health and can make decisions for yourself. It may not come in handy for a long time, but having it organised in advance means less stress down the line for your loved ones.
If you are caring for someone with a terminal illness, it is also important to organise an End-of-Life Care Plan to ensure their wishes are documented for this difficult eventuality. You can read more in our guide: What Is An End Of Life Care Plan?
In the case of dementia, cognitive decline is a major issue that can often make it impossible for a person to make realistic decisions about what they need, when they need it and what is best for them in the long run. When this time comes, it may already be too late to obtain a Lasting Power of Attorney due to the Mental Capacity Act.
This legislation assumes every adult has the capacity to make decisions themselves unless it is proven otherwise, so depending on how advanced a person’s dementia is, they may no longer be allowed to appoint their chosen Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney. This is why it is so important to organise this early – bear in mind some types of dementia progress rapidly, so it is vital to put this in place as soon as possible.
If you cannot get a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney early enough and a loved one’s cognitive abilities have become so limited that they cannot effectively decide things for themselves, the family will need to make a court appeal to determine whether or not they can still be appointed as a Lasting Power of Attorney, or if a deputyship may need to be put in place. This can be costly and time-consuming, so if possible, arrange to put a Lasting Power of Attorney in place early.
If you are caring for someone with dementia, you may find our guide helpful: Building A Care Plan For A Dementia Patient At Home.
Anyone can be chosen as a Lasting Power of Attorney, provided they are over 18 years old, and capable of rational decision-making themselves.
More than one person can be chosen as a Lasting Power of Attorney, and this can be helpful in situations where one Power of Attorney will not always be available to make decisions due to their career, their own family, or their location. If there are multiple children in a family, parents may choose to make all of their children joint PoAs. Jointly appointed Lasting Power of Attorneys must agree on all decisions. However, they can either act:
According to Citizen’s Advice, depending on the type of Power of Attorney in place, a person may be responsible for managing a loved one’s health and welfare-related affairs. For example:
On the other hand, there are some things the Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney cannot get involved in. For example:
If you are looking to appoint a Lasting Power of Attorney document for yourself or on behalf of a relative, you can do this in the UK using the following steps:
If you would like to contact the Office of the Public Guardian to request an application pack by post, you can write to them at:
Office of the Public Guardian
PO Box 16185
Birmingham
B2 2WH
Phone: 0300 456 0300
Textphone: 0115 934 2778
Email: [email protected]
If you would feel more comfortable with their legal advice, you can use a solicitor to create a Lasting Power of Attorney, but you do not need to use one. Many people create this on their own using the steps mentioned above. Keep in mind solicitor fees could be around £500, so always check the cost at the initial consultation and decide if this is the best option for you.
As a reminder, in the UK there are three main types of Power of Attorney to know about, and you should make sure you choose the appropriate one for your circumstances:
If you believe you need to arrange a PoA for health and welfare decisions, you will typically need a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), but you can arrange a separate Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) too if you wish for a loved one to manage your financial affairs. If you are unsure who to appoint or which type of PoA you need, you may wish to seek legal advice.
There are some questions to consider when choosing who your Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney should be, such as:
Although creating a Lasting Power of Attorney document on the government website is a relatively simple process, it can seem overwhelming when you are unsure of how this works and whether or not you are doing things correctly. We hope this guide offers more insight into the process, but if you think you need further assistance you can speak to the Office of the Public Guardian to ask for help, or speak to a solicitor if you would feel more comfortable doing so. You can look for a qualified solicitor using the Law Society online directory.
Remember, if you are helping an older loved one go through the process of creating a Lasting Power of Attorney, always involve them as much as possible so they feel in control of their future and that their health decisions are always going to be in good hands.
Home Instead is an award-winning home care provider and part of a worldwide organisation devoted to providing the highest-quality relationship-led care for older people in their own homes. Arranging care for yourself or your loved one shouldn’t be stressful at any time of life, so whatever questions you would like answered, feel free to reach out to the Home Instead team to discuss your needs.