Help your family take care of you
Give loved ones legal powers to make decisions with Lasting Power of Attorney in Bristol
Bespoke service
free appointment
local will writer
bespoke service
free appointment
local will writer
What can go wrong if you don’t have Lasting Power of Attorney?
Injury, serious illness and dementia can cause a loss of mental capacity – either temporary or permanent. If that happens…
Pensions and bank accounts could be frozen (even joint ones)
Nobody would be able to sell your house
Professionals decide your care and medical treatment
Professionals decide what you eat and where you live
Family members have to get a court order
If you don’t have Lasting Power of Attorney, the only way your loved ones could get the right to make decisions for you is to apply to the Court of Protection. This is very expensive and would take several months.
What can go wrong if you don’t have Lasting Power of Attorney?
Injury, serious illness and dementia can cause a loss of mental capacity – either temporary or permanent. If that happens…
- Pensions and bank accounts and pensions could be frozen (even joint ones)
- Nobody can sell your house
- Doctors decide your medical treatment
- Professionals decide what you eat and where you live
To do these things, your loved ones could apply to the Court of Protection. This is expensive and is likely to take months. But with correctly prepared Lasting Power of Attorney in place, your family can act straight away.
Why make a Lasting Power of Attorney?
Today, LPAs are considered as important as Wills. Read the 2-page factsheet to find out more.
The simple way to get Lasting Power of Attorney in Bristol
There are two Lasting Power of Attorney documents: one for finance and one for health.
Need Lasting Power of Attorney in Bristol? We’ll prepare the documents, ensuring that they are correctly are filled out and collecting witness signatures.
It’s quicker than doing it yourself and stress-free.
No hidden costs
We charge a single fee to prepare both documents. You’ll also need to pay an application fee of £82 per document direct to the Office of the Public Guardian.
correctly completed forms
Lasting Power of Attorney forms have several options. Choosing the wrong ones means they could be unusable when they’re really needed.
SAVE TIME
It takes around 30 minutes to discuss your requirements. You won’t have to spend hours trying to understand legal terms or chasing your attorneys.
minimise delays
We check Lasting Powers of Attorney to minimise the chances of them being rejected by the Government’s Office of the Public Guardian.
Three steps to peace of mind:
1
book an appointment
Pick a time and date to suit your diary.
2
discuss your needs
Tell me about your circumstances.
3
sign your LPA
Your LPA is valid once it’s registered.
Three steps to peace of mind
Step 1: Book an appointment
Pick a time and date to suit your diary.
Step 2: Discuss your needs
Tell me about your circumstances.
Step 3: Sign your LPA
Your LPA is valid once it’s registered.
I want to help your family help you
I know Lasting Powers of Attorney seem complicated. The forms can be confusing because there are so many options. Choosing the wrong options can cause a lot of problems later on.
So let us take the weight off your shoulders by completing and submitting Lasting Power of Attorney in Bristol for you, as I have done for my family.
I want to give you peace of mind that your loved ones will have the legal powers to help you, just as my attorneys will be able to help me with my own Lasting Power of Attorney.
What’s more, I’ve used Lasting Power of Attorney so I know how they work. If you ever lose mental capacity, your family may not be able to help you without them.
Graham Southorn, MIPW
Bristol Wills & Estate Planning is proud to be a member of:
Google reviews from people we’ve helped
Great service and everything was made very quick and easy. Thanks
Sarah
Excellent service and an efficient and easy process.
Tom
Graham made the whole process simple and straightforward while being ultra helpful and informative.
Steve
A video explaining Lasting Power of Attorney by Age UK
You may assume that a family member will automatically be able to make decisions for you, be that a partner, spouse, son or daughter, but this simply isn’t true. Unless Power of Attorney is in place, your family does not have the right to make decisions on your behalf.
– Age UK
Why having Lasting Power of Attorney is as essential as making a Will
Lasting Power of Attorney is a little like an insurance policy. You may never need to use it. But unless you live your whole life without suffering any health problems, sadly you are likely to need them at…
… some point in the future. The reason is that we’re all living longer. Older people are more likely to lose mental capacity as a result of diseases like dementia. Loss of capacity is one of the main benefits of having a Lasting Power of Attorney.
It may not be dementia that causes a loss of capacity. It could be an accident or another disease like COVID-19. This sadly happened to TV presenter Kate Garraway, whose husband Derek Draper was in a coma for several months.
During this time, Kate was unable to access accounts and financial products in his name or remortgage their house. (Even if you have joint accounts, the bank can freeze half if one joint owner loses mental capacity).
In addition, the hospital treating Derek would not divulge his medical records. Being married to him counted for nothing in this regard, a situation that could have been avoided if she’d been his attorney.
Kate has said that all of these things would have been much easier with both Lasting Powers of Attorney in place. Having a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare and for Property and Financial Affairs would have given her the legal right to deal with Derek’s finances and medical care.
What is the alternative? If someone loses capacity, you would have to apply to the Court of Protection for deputyship to act on their behalf. It’s a much longer and far more costly process than getting a Lasting Power of Attorney prepared now.
Getting Lasting Powers of Attorney in place can be a long process. Even under normal circumstances, it takes the Office of the Public Guardian several months to register the documents. For that reason, it’s best to arrange them as soon as possible.
Don’t leave it too late!