A fact of the modern world is that people are living a lot longer. Medical science and  healthcare as a whole mean that people are now living to ages that would have, in years gone by, been considered exceptional. Whilst this is obviously great news, it also has some ‘knock on’ effects. As many illnesses can be cured, prolonging life, this means that increasingly people need help from family members (or trusted friends) with their affairs as they get older. It can also mean that whilst peoples physical health can be treated and prolonged, their mental health can often deteriorate in later life, meaning they need a trusted relative or friend to help out. A Power of Attorney is the best way of dealing with this.

We generally recommend all of our clients to consider an LPA as a precautionary step, even though none of us like to think that there may come a stage where we will need help with such issues.

There are two different types of Power of Attorney that usually apply in these circumstances –

Lasting Power of Attorney for Property & Financial Affairs

Lasting Power of Attorney for Health & Welfare