Have you considered what would happen to your assets and who would pay your bills if you were to lose the mental capacity to handle them yourself?
Planning for the future is key to the advice and services we provide and Lasting Powers of Attorney are strongly recommended to all our clients. Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA’s) are the only legal and recommended way to put in place suitable measures to protect your assets during your lifetime, at a time when you are at your most vulnerable.
In the event of the loss of mental capacity, and without adequate provision having been made, your affairs cannot be administered on your behalf and even assets in joint accounts may become locked until a costly and sometimes lengthy application to the Court of Protection for a Court Order can be successfully made.
This application may also be made by the Director of Social Services in your local area, or another interested party, rather than your chosen family member or close friend. Would you leave the control of your finances in the hands of someone you cant necessarily trust implicitly?
Our lawyers are highly knowledgeable in this problematic area, and are able to provide cost-effective solutions for you.
Where adequate provision has not been made by way of Power of Attorney, and a person suffers from the onset of mental incapacity, it is likely that an application to the Court of Protection will be necessary.
The application will ask for a Court Order to be made authorising another person to deal with the incapacitated person’s property and financial affairs.
Our expert team can guide you through this difficult and lengthy process, and in many cases take on the role of ‘Deputy’ for our clients where they are unable to manage their affairs for themselves.
There may be other circumstances in which an application to the Court of Protection becomes necessary, including selling a property, making a Will on behalf of a person who lacks the mental capacity to do so, or where there is a need to appoint additional trustees of a trust fund. Our team of lawyers are able to assist you through these complex and difficult processes to achieve the objectives sought as soon as possible.