Published on: 5th March 2018

Reviewing your Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) should be reviewed on a regular basis; just like Wills. It is important to check that your LPAs are still "fit for purpose" and reflect your wishes.

If an attorney passes away, you must inform the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) however, you should also look at how many attorneys are still appointed in your LPA. If you are only left with one attorney, you may wish to consider creating a new LPA in case anything happens to your sole remaining attorney. This is extremely important as LPAs can only be created whilst you have mental capacity. If you only have one attorney and something happens to them once you have lost capacity, you will be left with no attorneys able to assist you. Another aspect to review is your attorneys move far away; especially if they move abroad. If this is the case, you may wish to consider creating a new LPA document as it is recommended that you appoint an attorney who lives locally so there is always someone close by to assist with your affairs. Furthermore, you should also inform the OPG if an attorney moves address. If you have a Property & Financial Affairs LPA and your attorney is declared bankrupt, they will not be able to act for you. You must inform the OPG as their position will need to be terminated on your LPA. Again, it is important to consider the impact this would have on your LPA as this may leave you with only one, or no, attorney(s). Furthermore, your relationship with your attorney may break down, or you may no longer trust your attorney and wish to have their appointment terminated.

At Casey & Associates, we are able to help create the necessary documents to remove an attorney from either types of LPA. Again, it will then be necessary to consider if you have a sufficient number of remaining attorneys. If an attorney's authority is terminated on your LPA by you or the OPG, their responsibility as an attorney will not be reinstated later on. Therefore, in such circumstances a new LPA will have to be created for them to be able to act again for you at a later date.

If you believe your LPA needs changing, or if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you would like a Consultant to visit you to discuss the above please telephone us on 01732 868190 or contact us via our website by clicking here.

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