New power of attorney guide 13 December 2011 at 1:57PM edited 21 December 2011 at 3:19PM in Marriage, Relationships & Families 629 replies 128.9K views

Primrose

silvercar wrote: »

I've filled in the forms and in family discussions we all agree our views on end of life care etc, so I had no need to add anything to those boxes where you could make your wishes known. I'm not sure I gain anything buy paying to register the forms.

It,s a difficult one, isn't it? None of us can pre-guess the circumstances which may prevail healthwise towards the end of our lives. Sometimes something entirely unpredicted could crop up which could split opinion amongst your next of kin or attorneys. Specifically listing your wishes could at least leave leave no room for doubt although if you're semi comatose in a hospital bed at that point it,s a mute point how relevant to you it might be.

My instincts from a point of good mental health is "fill in this form now and register it so those concerned know your wishes, file it away for the future and get on with life". At least you've done the best you can to eliminate doubt and uncertainty for those who matter later on, as well as trying to cover your own wishes. We can't control our fate. All we can do is try and influence how it's handled !

silvercar

Bottom line, if there is a possibility you need to go into a care home, who do you want to choose it, family or an overworked social worker? When you're there, who do you want to make decisions about any care and support needs (including who is allowed to visit you) - family or care home staff?

So if my husband (as attorney on the finance side) made the decision on my behalf under the LPA that I would be moved to a care home of his choosing, that would have to be accepted as the financial LPA gives him the right on how to spend money on my behalf in my interests. Given that the financial LPA would be in place and I expect that any care home would be self funding, that can be controlled by the finance LPA.

The visitor rights, I hadn't thought about. Is that true that care home staff could dictate who can visit? Do people write in their LPA who can and can't visit.

My instincts from a point of good mental health is "fill in this form now so those concerned know your wishes, file it away for the future and get on with life".

That was my starting point. But on reading it through, I realise I haven't added anything. So it basically says that my husband is my attorney (he would be next of kin anyway). As replacement attorneys I have my 2 adult children (again they would be the next, next of kin anyway).

I haven't added any specific views, as (a) we (the family) all agree on our opinion on vegetative states, DNR statements etc anyway and (b) you can't write every possible situation. So there wasn't anything I wanted to add.

So now I'm thinking that with a financial LPA in place, I am not getting anything for £82.

Primrose

I,m not sure that those in the Health care sector would necessarily take any notice of wishes expressed in a Finance LPA. The Heath and Welfare LPA seems specifically addressed at circumstances where somebody has lost the mental capacity to make their own decisions. The question of choice of care home is difficult. If self funding it seems to straddle the area of influence of both LPA's. if you trust your husband to do the best for you one LPA might be sufficient. Personally I think if you can afford the cost of an extra £82 it's worth thinking about and covering extra eventualities.

badmemory

I certainly think you need both. The finance one because you don't want the local authority looking after it & charging for the privelege or trying to manage someones finances without any authority, not everything can be done on line, especially if it wasn't before. The health one, well thinking of the social workers we dealt with for our mother, I wouldn't want them making decisions for me. If you are self funding they will send you to the one that takes local authority payers and charge double for self funders because if they can't keep the income up the LA funded people will have to be moved. Yes I am biased. From experience.

Mother's PofAs were invaluable. They have come down in price twice since then - so £82 is a bargain.

silvercar

If you are self funding they will send you to the one that takes local authority payers and charge double for self funders because if they can't keep the income up the LA funded people will have to be moved. Yes I am biased. From experience.

Interesting. I would have thought the finance LPA would trump that.

elsien

The visitors is an extreme example. But anyone who lacks capacity has decisions made in their best interests all the time. My question is just, for the more important ones, would you prefer that to be by family or paid professionals?

troubleinparadise

On a slightly simpler note, away from life/death decisions etc, an LPA for H&W is usually needed to speak to a GP about the health issues of a donor - without it, the GP should not share information about a patient with anyone else.

You try dealing with a sticky GP when caring for a parent with dementia with no attorneyship... it's correct according to data protection, but it does make life very difficult :mad:

Primrose

troubleinparadise wrote: »

On a slightly simpler note, away from life/death decisions etc, an LPA for H&W is usually needed to speak to a GP about the health issues of a donor - without it, the GP should not share information about a patient with anyone else.

You try dealing with a sticky GP when caring for a parent with dementia with no attorneyship... it's correct according to data protection, but it does make life very difficult :mad:

Trouble in paradise makes a very valid point. It should also not be forgotten that you may draw up a Health & Welfare LPA many years ahead of when it might be needed. Data Protection legislation could change over that period and doctors, local authorities and other caring organisations like care homes would be bound by the legislation in force at that time. Having something in place that ensures your attorneys cannot be ignored in legally trying to enforce your wishes in such cases is a valuable tool for them to have. The financial pressure on Local Authorities could mean they may take an easier option in some cases unless there is somebody fighting your corner and your attorneys have the legal authority to act for you.

You can always include an instruction that your attorneys should be given access to your medical records. Never under estimate how difficult and stressful it can be for relatives trying to cope with "the powers that be" when caring for a loved one with dementia. Make sure they have all the tools they need to do the job in your best interests.

badmemory

silvercar wrote: »

Interesting. I would have thought the finance LPA would trump that.

I would hope it would, but I would far rather not leave it to chance.

silvercar

You can always include an instruction that your attorneys should be given access to your medical records.

Thank you for this, it is something I sort of assumed would go with the LPA without having been specified.

Anyone know if I can add that by hand to my (already) printed off notes or if I need to reprint them?