My Uncle had made a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare and Property and Finance. This meant the people he trusted the most could make decisions that mattered the most for him as he became unable to make those decisions himself.

How do people with a relaxed attitude to life feel about creating LPAs? Is it ever too early to make an LPA? If it worked out alright when the French Foreign Legion evacuated us, surely it will work out ok now?

This blog follows the journey of ‘Grandad’, from writing previously unwritten languages to (eventually) writing his LPA.

An LPA enables a ‘donor’ to choose ‘attorneys’ to make decisions for them if they lose capacity. But what happens if the donor moves abroad? In this blog, I report on a hearing I recently attended where an attorney wanted to move their aunt from Lebanon to the UK.

It started with a poll. In previous blogs I have explored barriers to making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), with results correlating with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) findings. OPG research explored reasons or barriers to making an LPA in 2014 and found attitudinal reasons common - people just don’t think it will apply to them. The most common reason or not doing an LPA in the Twitter poll I ran in 2020 was attitudinal too, with people thinking they just didn’t need one. LPAs retain a reputation as documents in older age or ill health rather than a part of normal life planning.
The most recent poll I ran set out to find out triggers to making an LPA – what are the triggers can we increase them to normalise LPAs?

You may have noticed headlines about Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) in the past year. As always with news it is the sensationalist headlines that capture the eye and our attention; in issues as important as DNACP knowing the facts behind the headlines matters. This blog explores what DNACPR is and makes clear the role of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) with DNACRR.

Stay with me on this, there is method in the title. Today’s blog is in direct response to a plea from a close friend, asking me to raise awareness of the importance of checking all details of a Lasting Power of Attorney application.

Lasting Power of Attorney: planning for just in case
Most people, if they think about Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) at all, think of it as something associated with increasing age or a degenerative condition such as dementia; todays blog highlights the importance of LPAs in the case of sudden illness.

New Year resolutions; things we pledge to but generally don’t stick to. Here’s one idea that will make a difference and be a resolution with real meaning and worth – decide who would speak for you if ever needed. I can’t think of anything more important, particularly in the year of uncertainty that 2020 has been, than appointing someone you trust to speak for you with a Lasting Power of Attorney…

In this blog I aim to normalise Lasting Power of Attorney decision making and place it in the context of general life planning. I will touch on why LPAs aren’t in place for the vast majority of us and end, as ever, with a call to action.

There are two types of LPA, one covers Health and welfare and the other Property & Finance, details of which are covered more in blog 1 and blog 2 Business LPAs form a third category, however whilst drafting a Business LPA requires specific thinking and questioning the application follows the same process as the Property and Finance LPA (LP1F )

“If I can’t be me it’s not for me”……I first heard this in discussion with a respected friend (the brilliant @lisafalkimprove); it resonated deeply within me but at that point I had no idea it would grow into a blog. Thinking and learning more about developing my business saw me gaining inspiration from listening to The Business of healthcare Podcast with #80: Planning and Patience setting in motion my next thinking. Creating a public declaration & accountability for my business has been duel edged; firstly, helping me to clarify exactly what I have set out to achieve and secondly providing motivation to achieve…

Last week I posted a question I am seriously interested in…if you DON’T have a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) why not? Ok, so this wasn’t research standard and yes the answers probably skewed but TBH the results came as no great surprise backing up many of the conversations I have had.

Whilst I am guessing this blog isn’t as eagerly anticipated as the return of Strictly I did promise part two so here goes….

Part one explored issues around checking the validity of a Lasting Power of Attorney providing clarification on the process and differences with LPAs registered pre and post 17.7.2020. The new OPG on line checking service and power of the access code were highlighted and the difference an Access Code brings emphasised – a double whammy of quick access and no more worries about finding that critical original document. From my rudimentary poll there is a lack of awareness about the code, the difference it makes is huge and both public and organisational awareness are needed #UseAnLpA indeed.

Last week I ran a Twitter poll to find out how people checked the validity of a Lasting Power of an Attorney (LPA). An LPA allows someone (the Attorney) to talk for you (the Donor) should you lose the ability to speak for yourself through progressive illness or sudden accident. This blog is a thank you for everyone who took time to respond, to share the results and, for anyone having a sleepless night wondering what the right answer is, then….ta dah…all will be revealed. On a more serious note this matters – we are getting better about raising awareness for LPAs but not so good about understanding what someone means when the say “I have Power of Attorney” – just how do you check this at 3am on a Saturday night?