Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)

Our lasting power of attorney solicitors in Sussex provide clear, practical advice to help you plan for the future. We guide you through setting up an LPA, ensuring your wishes are protected and that someone you trust can make decisions on your behalf if needed.

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

Our lasting power of attorney solicitors in Sussex provide clear, practical advice to help you plan for the future. We guide you through setting up an LPA, ensuring your wishes are protected and that someone you trust can make decisions on your behalf if needed.

Types of Lasting Power of Attorney

There are two types of LPA, each covering different decisions:

• Property and Financial Affairs LPA- allows your attorney to manage finances, pay bills, and deal with property
• Health and Welfare LPA– allows decisions about medical care, treatment, and daily living

Why Should You Set Up a Lasting Power of Attorney?

• Putting an LPA in place ensures that someone you trust can act quickly and in your best interests if needed.
• Without an LPA, your family may need to apply to the Court of Protection to make decisions on your behalf, which can be costly and time-consuming.

Every 90 seconds, someone in the UK is admitted to hospital due to brain injury; and more than 800,000 people have dementia. While none of us like to think about the worst happening to us, it is vital to put these documents in place to protect ourselves as well as our loved ones. Without these documents in place, an application will be made to the Court of Protection to appoint a Deputy.

How to Set Up a Lasting Power of Attorney

• Setting up an LPA involves choosing your attorneys, completing the relevant forms, and registering the document with the Office of the Public Guardian.
• We guide you through the process to ensure everything is completed correctly and efficiently.

How Much Does a Lasting Power of Attorney Cost?

• We offer transparent fixed-fee pricing for LPA services, with costs depending on the number and type of LPAs required.
• We also provide a clear estimate during your initial consultation, so you know exactly what to expect.
• For full details, please see our Fees Page

Who can I appoint as my Attorney?

You can specify who you wish to appoint as your attorney. This could be a relative, friend or a professional, however they must have the mental capacity to make their own decisions. You may choose to appoint the same attorney, to cover both your financial and health decisions. You may also decide to have a different one for each, if you do choose to have different ones they may need to work together on certain decisions. The Power of Attorney must be over 18 years of age and cannot be bankrupt if they are to be appointed under an LPA for property and financial affairs.

General Power of Attorney

General Powers of Attorney are commonly used by individuals who become temporarily unable to manage their own affairs. Although the powers conferred can be wide ranging, they are used for specific commercial or transactional arrangements, for example allowing an appointed individual to execute documents on the donor’s behalf.

Under a General Power of Attorney, the donor must have mental capacity; and if they lose mental capacity; the document can no longer be used.

A benefit of creating a General power of Attorney is the ability for the donor to limit what aspects the attorneys can act in relation to.

Typical uses of a General Power of attorney involve executing deeds, for example in relation to a property transaction; and they can also be used to give shareholders of a business the ability to appoint someone to act as a proxy at company meetings, including voting and executing written resolutions.

Why should I appoint a solicitor to help set up my Powers of Attorney?

We offer tailored advice to suit your individual circumstances and requirements. We have a wealth of experience in handling all types of power of attorney documents and applications, ensuring you are advised of both the personal impact and practical requirements of each step in the process.

At The Jonathan Lea Network, we offer a fixed fee service and give you invaluable advice. We offer an initial no cost no obligation 20-minute video call to discuss your circumstances. To book this please send an initial email to wewillhelp@jonathanlea.net (with a brief description of the matter) and one of our team will liaise with you to fix a time to speak to an appropriate specialist and send you a calendar invite accordingly.