Sadly, throughout the course of our lifetime, many of us will find ourselves unable to make financial or medical decisions on our own behalf. I know from personal experience with family members suffering from Alzheimers Disease and Vascular Dementia just how devastating loss of mental capacity can be for everyone.

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What happens if you don’t have a Power of Attorney and you lose mental capacity?  In such cases, an individual, usually a member of your family (but not always) must make an application to the Court of Protection.  This is both costly and time consuming. You should also be aware that the Court of Protection may not grant the Orders you are seeking.

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To avoid that situation you should prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney for property and financial affairs and/or health and welfare.  You will choose the Attorneys that you trust implicitly; they will, after all, be making decisions on your behalf and can access your bank accounts, pay your bills and even sell your property.  Health and welfare Attorneys can only make decisions on your behalf if you lack mental capacity to make them yourself.