Receiving a dementia diagnosis is life-altering, prompting important considerations for the future. While it may feel overwhelming, proactively planning ahead, particularly regarding legal and financial matters, can bring significant peace of mind. One of the most vital steps you can take is establishing a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). This ensures your wishes are respected and your affairs are managed by trusted individuals when you may no longer have the capacity to do so yourself. Planning ahead with an LPA not only empowers you but also provides invaluable support and clarity for your loved ones during a challenging time.
Understanding Lasting Power of Attorney and Dementia
As dementia progresses, it can impact cognitive abilities, making it difficult to make decisions about your health, finances, and welfare. A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to appoint trusted individuals, known as attorneys, to make these decisions on your behalf should you lose the capacity to do so. Setting up an LPA after a dementia diagnosis, while you still have mental capacity, is a proactive and empowering step.
There are two types of LPAs in the UK:
- Property and Financial Affairs LPA: This allows your attorneys to manage your finances and property, including paying bills, managing bank accounts, and selling your home if necessary. It can be used as soon as it’s registered, with your permission, even while you still have capacity.
- Health and Welfare LPA: This allows your attorneys to make decisions about your healthcare and personal welfare, such as medical treatment, living arrangements, and daily care. This LPA can only be used once you have lost the capacity to make your own decisions.
Why is Setting Up an LPA After a Dementia Diagnosis Essential?
Delaying the creation of an LPA until capacity is diminished can lead to significant complications. Without an LPA, your loved ones may face legal hurdles and increased stress in managing your affairs.
Maintaining Control and Autonomy
An LPA ensures that you choose who will make decisions for you, rather than the decision being left to the courts or other potentially less suitable individuals. This maintains your autonomy and ensures your wishes are at the forefront of future decisions regarding your care and finances. Knowing you have selected trustworthy attorneys can be incredibly reassuring during an uncertain time.
Avoiding the Court of Protection and Deputyship
If you haven’t created an LPA and lose capacity, your family may need to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship. This is a much more complex, costly, and time-consuming process compared to setting up an LPA.
A deputy, appointed by the court, has similar powers to an attorney but with crucial differences:
- Cost and Time: Deputyship applications are significantly more expensive and take much longer to process than registering an LPA.
- Court Selection: The court chooses your deputy, not you. This means you lose control over who manages your affairs.
- Ongoing Oversight: Deputies are subject to annual fees and reporting requirements to the Court of Protection, adding administrative burden and cost.
- Limited Scope: Deputies are typically appointed for property and financial affairs. Decisions about health and welfare are usually handled by healthcare professionals in your best interests if you lack capacity and don’t have a health and welfare LPA or an advance decision.
Easing the Burden on Loved Ones
Creating an LPA is an act of love and consideration for your family and friends. It removes the burden of navigating complex legal processes and uncertainties about your wishes during an already emotionally challenging time. By establishing an LPA, you provide clarity and legal authority for your chosen attorneys to act in your best interests, simplifying matters significantly for everyone involved.
Key Benefits of Establishing a Lasting Power of Attorney
Having an LPA in place offers numerous advantages as dementia progresses:
- Peace of Mind: Knowing that someone you trust will make decisions for you if you become unable to provides significant reassurance.
- Early Support: With a property and affairs LPA, you can choose to allow your attorney to act for you even while you still have capacity. This can be helpful for managing finances and provides an opportunity for your attorney to become familiar with your affairs.
- Reduced Future Stress and Expense: LPAs are significantly easier and less expensive to set up than deputyship, saving your loved ones considerable time, money, and stress in the future.
- Open Communication: The process of creating an LPA encourages important conversations with your family about your wishes and preferences, ensuring future decisions align with your values.
What Happens If You Don’t Have an LPA?
Without an LPA, if you lose the capacity to make decisions, no one automatically has the legal right to make decisions for you. This can lead to significant difficulties in managing your finances, healthcare, and welfare. As mentioned, your loved ones would likely need to apply for deputyship, a process that can be stressful, lengthy, and expensive. In the absence of a health and welfare LPA or advance decision, healthcare professionals will make decisions about your care based on what they believe is in your ‘best interests’, considering your known wishes but ultimately holding the final decision-making authority.
Conclusion: Taking Proactive Steps with LPA
Planning for the future after a dementia diagnosis is an act of empowerment and responsibility. Creating a Lasting Power of Attorney is a crucial step in this process, ensuring your wishes are respected, your affairs are managed by trusted individuals, and your loved ones are spared unnecessary stress and legal hurdles. Taking proactive steps to set up an LPA provides invaluable peace of mind and control during a challenging chapter of life. It is a gift to yourself and those closest to you, ensuring a smoother and more secure path forward.
