Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and Deputyship Orders are both legal appointments for a person or persons to deal with the affairs of another person who lacks mental capacity to deal with their affairs themselves.

There are, however, major differences in the procedures involved in setting up LPAs and Deputyship appointments and the circumstances in which they are needed.

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA)

An LPA is made by an individual whilst they still have mental capacity to appoint Attorneys of their choosing who will then act on their behalf in relation to their property and financial affairs and/or health and welfare. You can decide the powers given to the Attorneys by imposing conditions or restrictions in the LPA on how they are to act or make decisions.

LPAs reflect the wishes of the person who is making the document.

Once an LPA is drawn up and signed by all the parties involved it must be registered with the court, known as the Office of the Public Guardian, before it can be used.  Registration can take around 3 months and once registered the Court will have no further involvement unless there are any concerns about an Attorney’s actions which come to the Court’s attention.

But what happens if someone is not deemed to have capacity to make an LPA? The answer is no, you can only make an LPA if you have capacity to do so.

Deputyship Order

If someone has not made an LPA and they lose mental capacity, the only option is to make an application to the Court of Protection for the appointment of a Deputy.

The application to the Court of Protection can be made by anyone who comes forward to do so, usually family members such as a spouse, or children of the person who lacks capacity. Sometimes, the Court can appoint the local authority or a professional deputy such as a Solicitor to act. The appointment of a professional attorney will incur considerable costs for the work carried out which will be borne by the person who has lost capacity.

The route of deputyship takes far longer than the registration of the LPAs and is more expensive. Costs run into thousands of pounds when taking into account legal fees, court fees and indemnity insurance.

There is also the added requirement that deputies need to report to the Court annually of the persons’ value of assets including income and expenses, which is not required by attorneys who are appointed under an LPA.

A deputyship order does not cover decisions in relation to health and welfare decisions, only in very limited circumstances will a court grant this order. If you make an LPA, however, then you can decide on what decisions your attorneys can make in relation to your health which covers what type of care you need, what treatment and medicine you receive including life sustaining treatment.

The need to appoint a Deputy can be avoided simply by making an LPA while you are still able to do so. Don’t wait until it is needed as it may be too late! Yes, it is something of an insurance policy and when you make it you hope you never need it. If it is needed, however, it can save your family or those close to you considerable stress and heartache and also ensures that you get the help you need at the earliest opportunity.

How We Can Help

At Timms, we can help with every stage of the preparation and registering of the LPAs. For further information, please contact Megan Lovell on m.lovell@timms-law.com