The Office of Public Guardian looks after the welfare (financial and personal) of vulnerable people, in particular those without mental capacity. These are known as Patients of the Court.
The principles and objectives of the Court stem from the very best motives but the practice can often be:
- Slow, with many weeks or months before the Court order is obtained. You have no authority to help the Patient during this time
- Costly, with application and ongoing annual administration fees
- Burdensome, with you having to prepare annual accounts for the Court’s approval and making separate applications for selling a house and tax planning
If there is nothing legally in place to cover this situation, the Office of Public Guardian is the only alternative. Wouldn’t it be better to plan in advance and appoint the person or people you want to look after your affairs in these circumstances?
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) lets you do this.
By using an LPA:
- You say who you want to appoint (your Attorneys)
- You extend or limit the Attorneys’ powers as you wish
- You decide on whether the power granted covers person affairs (Financial LPA) or you physically (Welfare LPA)
Once created, the document is registered with the Office of Public Guardian to confirm it is valid (a fee is payable for this) then it can simply be kept in storage until needed. Although most often used for the elderly, LPAs can also be useful in any case where an Attorney’s assistance is needed long term (such as if you are abroad).
We can also help with more specific Powers of Attorney (often useful in Property or Company transactions) when required. All charges are fixed and we advise of the cost upfront.