Protection against the unexpected is a key part of any long-term financial plan.
An accident or illness can strike at any time, cutting off your income stream or even leaving you unable to make your own financial decisions.
If you became incapacitated, you’d want to know that your health and wellbeing, and your finances, were in the hands of someone you trust.
At Globe IFA, our financial advice can help you put the right protection in place. You’ll have peace of mind, a sense of control over the unknown, and confidence that you and your loved ones would be looked after.
Keep reading to find out how.
It just became easier to appoint someone to look after your affairs if you’re no longer able
One of the simplest ways to regain control over the unexpected is to register a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).
An LPA is a legal document that allows you to choose someone to look after your affairs if you are no longer able. You can appoint someone you trust to manage your financial affairs or to oversee your care. And the process recently became easier.
You can now apply for an LPA online, a simple change that – according to This is Money – was partly responsible for a 20% rise in LPA registrations in 2022. Registering an LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) costs just £82 in England and Wales (and £77 in Scotland) and is quicker and easier than ever.
You will though, have some important decisions to make.
You can choose who you appoint and what they will have control over
There are two main types of LPA:
- A property and financial affairs LPA allows your chosen attorney to make decisions about your money, including your bank accounts, bills, property, and investments.
- A health and welfare LPA allows your attorney to make decisions about your wellbeing and day-to-day care.
As long as you are over 18 and of sound mind, you can appoint one or more attorneys to look after either, or both, aspects of your care.
The process puts you in control. You choose who, and how many attorneys you appoint and can even stipulate the areas in which they are and aren’t permitted to make decisions on your behalf. You might, for example, appoint an attorney to look after your day-to-day banking but constrain them from managing a house sale.
Likewise, you might appoint multiple attorneys to manage your day-to-day care but allow only one to make life-ending decisions, should the need arise.
These won’t be easy or comfortable conversations – and the registered LPA may never be needed – but you will have peace of mind.
An LPA could reduce the stress and costs your loved ones face at an already difficult time
Without an LPA in place, your family will need to appoint a deputy through the Court of Protection. Compared to the £82 to register an LPA, this process is expensive.
The initial fee is currently £371 for each LPA (so £742 if you apply for a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and a Health and Welfare LPA). But the charges don’t end there.
There’ll be an extra £494 if the court decides your case needs a hearing, plus a £100 assessment fee if it is the first time they have been appointed as a deputy. Finally, your deputy will need to pay an annual supervision fee to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), plus a £100 assessment fee if they’re a new deputy.
As well as being costly, this process is also time-consuming. In the four to six months it takes to appoint a deputy, your affairs will go unmanaged, which could lead to huge stress for your loved ones.
There are some recent changes you’ll need to be aware of
Recent changes have made registering an LPA easier. As well as being able to register online (an online copy of the registration is now acceptable, whereas previously a hard copy was required), some other changes have come into force:
These changes include:
- Enabling you and your chosen attorneys to sign digitally, on paper, or a combination of both
- Simplifying the registration process so you no longer need to notify the people you name on the LPA (this will now be done by the OPG)
- Stronger safeguards against fraud and abuse, including tougher identification requirements, so you know your affairs will be in safe hands.
Get in touch
A good financial plan allows you to build toward your goals, safe in the knowledge that your loved ones will be protected should the unexpected happen. This financial resilience will give you peace of mind, and an LPA can help with that.
Please email hello@globeifa.co.uk or call us on 020 8891 0711 to discuss how Globe IFA’s expert financial advisors can help you put one in place and check in with your other forms of protection to ensure there are no gaps.
