You may have seen lots of articles recommending that you plan for death by writing a will, but what happens if you become unable to make decisions for yourself whilst you are alive; either through illness or accident? Who will make decisions on your behalf and how will your finances be run?
We don’t like to think of these things but if you had an accident and were in a coma, how would you renew your house insurance or pay your child’s school fees? You may think that things will run as normal, but the fact of the matter is that, in the absence of any other instruction, your bank is legally required to freeze your bank account once it becomes aware that you are mentally incapable of making decisions for yourself – and this also applies to a joint account and so, for example, the other named person would also not be able to access the account or use any funds in it. This is just one of the myriad of financial problems that would arise if you became mentally incapable and had not put any arrangements in place.
You may assume that your partner or your spouse would have automatic authority on your behalf. This is not the case.
The arrangement to put in place is called a Lasting Power of Attorney for financial decisions which is a legal document that specifies the person (or people) that you trust to take decisions on your behalf in the event that you are incapable of doing so. Then, in the event of your incapacity, a relatively smooth transition can be made to your trusted person or people handling your finances until you are again able to make your own decisions.
If you lose the capacity to make your own decisions and you don’t have a valid power of attorney, then someone will need to apply to the Court of Protection and get a Deputy appointed. A Deputy acts in a very similar way to the trusted person or people under a Lasting Power of Attorney. However this process can take several months during which your accounts remain frozen. It is also a costly affair. The Deputy must also report regularly to the Court of Protection.
Saul Caplan, a Director in local law firm BTMK Solicitors said, “Putting a Lasting Power of Attorney in place for your finances may be a minor annoyance now and hopefully you will never need it. But it is better to have and forget than to need and not have!”
If you would like assistance in relation to setting up such a Lasting Power of Attorney please don’t hesitate to call Saul on 01702 238516 for further information. We’re also contactable on 03300 585 222 (24/7), by e-mail at [email protected] and also by live chat through our website at www.btmk.co.uk
Our offices are operating remotely at the present time with full video-conferencing and telephone facilities. We’d be happy to discuss virtual-meeting arrangements with you
