With advances in medicine and good nutrition we, are living longer. That brings concern as well as comfort; the concern is one of quality of life over quantity of life. A common discussion.

Tragically, a young middle-aged client of mine recently suffered a catastrophic event which left him ventilated and subject to intubation much to the great distress of his elderly mother. There was no hope of recovery; he was, as she said in a “living death.” He was being – and could continue to be – kept alive by machines. However, he had recorded his wishes and his mother knew with certainty that he did not desire treatment. It is of comfort to her that he passed without lingering.

There is increasing awareness about the available options when one comes to the end of one’s life. It is of course well documented that a person should put their affairs in order by writing their wills, granting Powers of Attorney and taking advice on tax mitigation if required. However, forward planning can extend beyond property, financial and welfare matters. It can extend to making decisions about the type and extent of medical intervention a person would wish. These decisions can be recorded in an Advance Statement (otherwise known as a Living Will).

If you want to make your wishes known because you have clear views about quality of life and you want to die well and protect your loved ones from heart rending choices, you should seek our advice.

We all know we should make a Will to ensure our loved ones are protected in the event of our deaths, but what happens if we have an accident, suffer from ill health or from sheer old age. How do we provide for ourselves and our loved ones in those circumstances? Just because a person is a spouse or next of kin of a person who is unable to deal with their financial affairs or make decisions regarding their Welfare, this will not give them authority to deal with these issue on behalf of that person.

Over the past 20 years Powers of Attorney have made the transition from being the Cinderella deed in comparison to a Will, to being looked upon as just as important as one. This is as a result of changes in the law. If a person has life insurance to provide financial assistance for their loved ones, or if they have a Will to provide for the orderly distribution of their estate should the worst happen, we find that in the vast majority of cases when a Power of Attorney is explained to them that this is seen by them as being just as important as life insurance or a Will.

If for any reason a person is unable to look after their own financial or welfare affairs, their attorney could deal with these on their behalf. If a person is in business this may enable another person to continue running their business or to make appropriate decisions while they are unable to do so.

If a person has substantial assets, such as a house, and loses mental capacity it is likely that for these assets to be dealt with on their behalf, it will be necessary if a Power of Attorney has not been obtained to go to Court to appoint a financial and welfare guardian. It will take a number of months, perhaps many, and considerable expense for the guardian to be appointed. Once appointed it is likely there will be substantial ongoing expenses such as an annual insurance policy, the fees of the Office of the Public Guardian, and often solicitors fees in relation to administering the guardianship. These expenses could be avoided by having a Power of Attorney and just as importantly the attorney will be able to act immediately rather than having to wait until a Court order is granted. This gives flexibility and reassurance to the family at times of difficulty.

s a business owner you’ll know that running a successful business takes up so much of your time that it can become all-consuming. And, when everything is going so well, why should you spend time thinking about the worst case scenario?

Unfortunately many people in this position do not think about what would happen to their business if they became incapable of running or making important day-to-day decisions either through physical or mental incapacity, or if they were stranded abroad for any reason.

You may think you can rely on family, friends, or even employees, to take over the running of the business for you but this really isn’t a satisfactory long-term solution. You’ve probably spent years building up your business and you need to know that the person left in charge will have the authority to make the best day-to-day decisions.

This is why we recommend that business owners protect themselves and their business by having a Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”). Not only will it save time, it’ll help ensure that everything runs smoothly in your absence.”

An LPA enables you to appoint someone (an “Attorney”) to look after your financial affairs if you were to become incapable of dealing with them yourself.

You decide on who will deal with your affairs on your behalf and you can place restrictions on and give guidance to your Attorney(s) on how they should deal with your business affairs.

If you are making an LPA in respect of your business affairs, it makes sense to appoint someone who is familiar with the business. For example, the partners in a business could appoint each other, or you could appoint someone in your family who knows the business well. You can also choose more than one Attorney who could act jointly or separately from each other. The choice is yours, but it’s not one to be taken lightly.

An LPA relating to your financial affairs must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, regardless of your mental capacity in order for it to be valid. Once that’s done, then you will have peace of mind that should anything happen to you your Attorney can act on your behalf.

If you were to become incapacitated, then without an LPA, an application would have to be made to the Court of Protection in order for someone to be appointed as your deputy. This process can take months and the costs involved are much higher than those involved in obtaining a Lasting Power of Attorney. In the meantime, who knows what will happen to your business?

It really makes so much sense to apply for an LPA now and never have to use it. Think of it as an insurance policy that could keep your business running successfully.