A property and financial affairs LPA lets your attorneys pay bills, manage bank accounts, collect pensions and benefits, and buy or sell your home if needed. Unlike a health and welfare LPA, it can be used with your permission while you still have mental capacity, which many people find useful in later life or during a hospital stay.
The Stroud valleys are spread out, and getting to a solicitor’s office is not always easy, which is why David comes to you. He covers Stroud town and the surrounding villages, including Stonehouse, Nailsworth, Minchinhampton, Painswick, Chalford and Dursley, sitting down with you at home to talk through your choices before any forms are completed.
Also covering Stroud: Stonehouse, Nailsworth, Minchinhampton, Painswick, Chalford and Dursley.
Yes, if your property and financial affairs LPA does not restrict it. Your attorney must act in your best interests, for example selling to pay care fees. If the home is jointly owned or held in trust, extra steps may be needed, so it is worth thinking about this when you make the LPA.
Only in limited ways. Attorneys can give gifts on customary occasions such as birthdays, weddings or Christmas to people related or connected to you, and to charities you would normally support, as long as the amounts are reasonable. Larger gifts or inheritance tax planning need approval from the Court of Protection.
Banks and building societies accept a registered LPA, or a certified copy of it. Each has its own process for adding an attorney to an account, so your attorney usually contacts each bank separately once the LPA has been registered by the Office of the Public Guardian.
See our transparent pricing for Financial Power Of Attorney Service in Stroud. Our rates are clear and affordable, and you pay nothing until all documentation is prepared. Let David take the stress out of putting your LPA in place.
£300 - £600 + VAT
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In my opinion having a registered LPA in place is as important as making a will, if not more so. Sadly, many of us will know of a loved one, friend or neighbour who has lost their mental capacity through accident or illness.
Ensuring that you have an LPA registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) will provide peace of mind to you (the donor) and your appointed representative(s) (your attorney(s)) that they will have a legally binding authority to act on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself, concerning matters such as financial affairs and your health and welfare.
Mental capacity means being able to make a decision and understand its consequences. Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, a person lacks capacity for a decision if they cannot understand the relevant information, retain it, weigh it up, or communicate their decision. Capacity is judged decision by decision, at the time the decision needs to be made.
Your attorney should be someone you trust completely, such as a family member, close friend or professional. Our FAQs explain how capacity is assessed.
Many people assume a husband, wife or civil partner can automatically step in. They cannot. Without a registered LPA, no one, including your spouse, has the legal authority to manage your finances or make decisions about your care if you lose mental capacity.
Instead, your family would have to apply to the Court of Protection to appoint a deputy, which can take many months and costs far more than an LPA. In the meantime, banks can restrict accounts, including joint accounts, to essential transactions only. An LPA put in place now avoids all of this.
Mental capacity can be lost suddenly or gradually, at any age. Common causes include:
Planning ahead matters at any age.
If you are a sole trader, partner or company director and lose mental capacity without an LPA, it may not be possible to pay staff or suppliers or complete business transactions. Banks can freeze accounts held jointly with business partners. A business LPA lets someone you trust keep things running. See our FAQs for business owners.
Examples of Attorney Powers – Health and Welfare
Once you can no longer make a decision yourself, a health and welfare attorney can, for example:
1. Decide where you live, including moving into a care home.
2. Arrange the care and support you need.
3. Consent to or refuse medical treatment, and decide about life-sustaining treatment only if you have given them that authority.
4. Make day-to-day decisions such as diet, dress and social activities.
5. See personal information about you, including medical records, where it is needed for a decision.
These are examples only. You can add restrictions or instructions, and some decisions, such as marriage or voting, can never be made by an attorney.
Examples of Attorney Powers – Property and Financial Affairs
With your permission, or once you lose mental capacity, a property and financial affairs attorney can, for example:
1. Manage your bank and building society accounts.
2. Pay bills, household costs and care fees.
3. Claim pensions and benefits on your behalf.
4. Buy, sell or rent out your property.
5. Deal with your tax returns and investments.
Gifts are limited to customary occasions and reasonable amounts; larger gifts or tax planning need Court of Protection approval. These are examples only, not a full list.
David Forte helps families across Stroud put every type of Lasting Power of Attorney in place, with home visits and a fixed fee. Choose the service that fits you:
Providing lasting powers of attorney to people in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire including,
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