Appointing a lasting power of attorney after a cancer diagnosis
After a cancer diagnosis, you and your family may have concerns about how you will manage your own welfare and finances.
If it’s possible that you may become unable to manage these yourself, there are ways to appoint trusted loved ones to make decisions on your behalf. This may relieve you of unnecessary responsibilities and it can provide you and your family with the support, care, and certainty you may need.
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal tool that allows you to appoint one or more people to make decisions on your behalf. This person is then known as your ‘attorney’.
There are two main types of LPA:
Health and welfare LPA
Property and financial LPA
You can choose to have an attorney for both types or you can make an LPA for just one. The same person can act as both your health and financial attorney, or you can choose to have different people for each type of LPA.
A health and welfare attorney can make decisions on your behalf for matters relating to your health and care when you are no longer able to make these decisions yourself. Your health and welfare attorney will not be able to make decisions for you if you have the mental capacity to make them yourself.
Your health and welfare attorney can make decisions about things like:
Your daily routine including washing, dressing, and eating
The medical care you receive
Where you will live
You can also decide whether to give your health and welfare attorney the authority to accept or refuse life-sustaining treatment. This is an important responsibility, so it is essential that you take the time to discuss this question with the person you select.
If you have already expressed your wishes through an advanced decision, you need to think about how your advance decision and LPA will work together.
We always recommend seeking legal advice if you are concerned about any conflict between your advance decision and LPA.
You can also appoint someone to make decisions about your finances and property.
Your property and financial attorney can:
Manage your bank accounts
Pay your bills
Collect your income and benefits
Sell your house
Unlike a health and welfare attorney, you can choose to allow your property and financial LPA to make decisions for you even when you can make them yourself. People often find that this is a good option to provide additional support.
It is up to you when your financial and property attorney can make these choices, as you can restrict your attorney to only making decisions when you are unable to.
Cancer and related medications can rapidly affect your capacity to make decisions. If an LPA is not made before mental capacity has been lost, it may still be possible to appoint someone to manage your affairs.
A deputyship order can only be made on behalf of another person if they already lack mental capacity. The application is made to the Court of Protection, who will appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf. Your consent is not required for the application, but you will be notified as part of the legal process.
A deputy for property and financial affairs will make decisions about financial matters, whilst a personal welfare deputy will make decisions about health and welfare. The Court of Protection rarely appoints personal welfare deputies and tends to only do so in the most difficult cases.
For that reason, property and financial affairs deputies are far more common. You can choose a relative or friend. You can also select a professional person, such as a solicitor. In complex cases, usually involving large sums of money, the Court of Protection may prefer to appoint a professional deputy.
Appointing an LPA is a good way to get extra support when making decisions after a cancer diagnosis, especially if you are likely to lose capacity as part of your prognosis. It is an important part of managing your estate and legacy at the end of life.
Here at Wilkin Chapman, we are with you every step of the way and we can help you and your family prepare for the future. Find out more about our Will, estates, tax, and trusts service.
Contact Michele to discuss this further.
