04.05.16

Question:

My daughter has just turned 18 and I’ve been told I need to do a Lasting Power of Attorney for her so I can manage her affairs as she is not good at handling her own money.  I don’t know anything about this so what do I need to do?

Answer:

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document where a person gives authority to another person or people (known as ‘Attorneys’) to make certain decisions on their behalf.  This means that when that person no longer wishes to make decisions for themselves or doesn’t have the mental capacity to make certain decisions, someone has been appointed to act on their behalf.  Anyone over the age of 18, with mental capacity, can put in place an LPA.

There are two different types of LPAs, a Property and Financial Affairs LPA which covers financial affairs, taxes, assets etc. and a Health and Welfare Power of Attorney which covers medical treatment, care and personal matters. The Property and Financial Affairs is relevant to you in this situation.

In your question you highlighted that your daughter is not good at managing her own money, we would therefore need to determine whether she has the mental capacity to put in place an LPA.  A high level of mental capacity is required to put in place an LPA so your daughter would need to understand, as a starting point, what an LPA is, who she would want to appoint as her attorneys and what powers the attorneys would have.

If your daughter doesn’t have the required mental capacity to put in place an LPA, the alternative is for family or friends to apply to the Court of Protection for the Court’s authority to make decisions regarding your daughter’s financial affairs.

The Court of Protection can make an Order authorising a person to act on behalf of someone who lacks mental capacity; the person who acts is called ‘the Deputy’.  The Court of Protection will set out the Deputy’s specific powers in any Order it makes.  The powers given will depend on the needs of the person who lacks mental capacity.

For more information on putting in place an LPA or the Court of Protection process please do not hesitate to contact us on [email protected] I 01273 610 611.