A Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows an individual (the Donor) to appoint one or more people (Attorneys) to make decisions about their health and personal welfare if they lose the mental capacity to do so themselves.

What Does It Cover?

A Health and Welfare LPA gives the attorney authority to make decisions on:

Medical treatment and care, including life-sustaining treatment (if specified)

Where the donor lives (e.g., care home or staying at home)

Daily routine (e.g., diet, dressing, activities)

Social and personal matters (e.g., who they interact with)

So, why is a Health and Welfare LPA so important?

In a nutshell, if someone loses mental capacity without a Health and Welfare LPA in place then the only way that someone else will be able to deal with that person’s health and personal welfare affairs will be by making an application to the Court of Protection for a Health and Welfare Deputyship Order. The main problem is that such applications are very difficult to obtain (far more difficult than a Property and Affairs Deputyship Order). The other problem is that these applications typically take between 6 and 12 months to make and delays can occur due to Court backlogs, errors in the application or objections from family members. Deputyship applications are also very costly, and it can typically cost up to £3,000 all in to obtain an Order.

In short, a Health and Welfare LPA (like a Property and Affairs LPA) is a crucial tool for anyone who wants to get their affairs in order. Proper advice should be taken when considering them and here at ST10 LAW our charges and quality of advice will be difficult to beat!

Nick @ ST10 LAW