Why Powers of Attorney matter
- What are they: Powers of Attorney enable your appointed attorney to manage your legal and financial affairs, and to take personal or welfare decisions, should you lose capacity. This could happen as a result of an accident or illness at any age.
- Capacity: Sadly we have seen cases where clients have lost capacity with the result that, if no Power of Attorney is in place, the family have no means of managing operations, the bank accounts, or of taking decisions.
- Guardianship: If capacity has been lost and a Power of Attorney is not in place, the family’s only option is to go to court seeking an Intervention Order or more likely a full Guardianship. The process is expensive, stressful and time consuming and often does not give the desired result.
- Peace of mind: All that can be avoided by having a Power of Attorney in place. You might never need it, but having it there can save a lot of issues for your family should something unexpected happen.
How we can help
- Taking instructions: Meeting with you can be arranged at our office, your home, the local hospital or care home.
- Consultation: Our initial consultation helps us understand your instructions and outline the best approach for your Power of Attorney.
- Drafting and review: We draft your Power of Attorney, ensuring its legality and accuracy. We then review it with you, making any necessary adjustments.
- Execution: We guide you through the signing and witnessing of your Power of Attorney, ensuring it meets all legal requirements.
- Solicitor’s certificate: Powers of Attorney contain a certificate to be signed either by a solicitor or a doctor to confirm capacity prior to the signature of the document. We can assist with this.
- Registration: We will handle the registration formalities with the Office of the Public Guardian and provide you with copies for your records.
- Storage and updates: We provide secure storage for your Power of Attorney and assist with any updates or changes you may need in the future.
No one likes to think about a time that you may not be able to make decisions for yourself. Lows can help with preparing powers of attorney to give you and your family peace of mind that provision has been made for the future.
