Importance of a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney

A Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is an important legal document that allows you to appoint one or more people (known as your attorneys) to make decisions about your health and welfare if you lost the mental capacity to do so yourself.

Having a Health and Welfare LPA in place can provide you and your loved ones with peace of mind that there is a plan in place for your future care needs. This guide will explore what a Health and Welfare LPA is, why it’s important to make one, and how the process works.

• What is a Health and Welfare LPA?
• Why You Need a Health and Welfare LPA
• Key Decisions for Your LPA
• The Lasting Importance of an LPA

What is a Health and Welfare LPA?

A Health and Welfare LPA is a legal document that lets you choose one or more people, called your attorneys, to make decisions about your medical care and welfare in the event you become incapacitated. Your attorneys can be your partner, family members, or friends. Your LPA allows your attorneys to make decisions such as:

• Your day-to-day care, such as diet, dress and daily routine
• Where you should live if you can no longer live independently
• Your medical care, such as consenting to or refusing medical treatment on your behalf
• Your social care, such as services provided by local authorities or care homes
• Who can have contact with you if you lack capacity
• Whether life-sustaining treatment should be refused or withdrawn in the absence of an Advance Directive

A Health and Welfare LPA only comes into effect once it has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian and your attorneys have evidence confirming you lack the mental capacity to make your own decisions. As long as you still have mental capacity, you remain in control of decisions about your health and welfare.

Why You Need a Health and Welfare LPA

There are several important reasons why you should make a Health and Welfare LPA:

• It allows you to choose who makes decisions about your care if you’re unable to do so yourself. Without an LPA, doctors and local authorities decide what treatment you have and where you live. With an LPA, you get to select people you know and trust.
• It provides you with peace of mind that your wishes will be respected. You can provide instructions about any treatments you’d refuse or stipulate where you’d like to live if needed. Your attorneys must follow your instructions when making decisions.
• It avoids a lengthy deputyship or court of protection application if you lose capacity. Your attorneys can immediately start making essential decisions about your health and care rather than your loved ones having to apply and wait for authority.
• It helps avoid conflict between your loved ones if difficult decisions need to be made. Knowing your wishes and who you want to make decisions removes uncertainty.
• It allows your attorneys to access your personal and medical information. They may need this to make informed choices on your behalf.

Without an LPA in place, your loved ones would have to apply to the Court of Protection to become your deputy in order to make decisions about your healthcare and welfare if you lose capacity. This is a lengthy and costly process that can be avoided by creating a Health and Welfare LPA in advance.

Key Decisions for Your LPA

When making a Health and Welfare LPA, there are some key decisions you will need to consider:

Who to appoint as your attorneys – choose people you trust fully. As a starting point, most people choose their spouse/partner alongside another close family member or friend.

Allowing joint and several attorneys – you can state attorneys must act together unanimously, or allow them to make decisions separately. There are pros and cons to both approaches.

Replacement attorneys – consider naming alternative attorneys in case your original attorneys cannot take on the role, either temporarily or permanently.

Instructions and restrictions – whether to provide specific instructions about healthcare, living arrangements, contact with others etc. You can also place restrictive conditions, if desired.

Providing permission to refuse life-sustaining treatment – your attorneys cannot refuse treatment unless expressly permitted, so you will need to state in your LPA if you want them to have this power.

Who to notify – you can select up to 5 people to be notified when your LPA is registered. This allows important people in your life to be aware about your wishes.

Fees – your attorneys can claim reasonable expenses but you can choose whether they can also claim for time spent if they are professionals.

Without the right preparation, decisions about your health and welfare can be extremely difficult for attorneys acting without your clear guidance. Spending time considering your wishes and choices when completing the LPA form will give your attorneys the confidence to follow your instructions.

The Lasting Importance of an LPA

A Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to shape decisions that may need to be made about your healthcare, living arrangements and general wellbeing if you ever become unable to make those decisions yourself. It can give you significant peace of mind that your wishes will be followed. Without an LPA in place, important decisions about your health, care and lifestyle may not reflect your own preferences if you lose capacity.

Although it can be difficult to think about a time when you won’t be able to make your own choices, setting up a Health and Welfare LPA in advance is one of the most important steps you can take to plan for your future. Your LPA will empower those closest to you to make choices on your behalf. It will also prevent uncertainty and potential conflict during an already stressful time for your loved ones.

Taking professional advice can ensure your LPA meets all legal requirements and is successfully registered. Our Senior Advisors at MWQ Estate Planning have extensive experience advising clients on creating effective Lasting Powers of Attorney.

If you would like guidance on putting an appropriate Health and Welfare LPA in place, please get in touch to find out more about the services we offer. Planning ahead is always wise when it comes to such an important decision about your future wellbeing and care.