Health & Welfare LPA

Savvy_Sue

Mintyrose said:

RAS said:

Start with the Health one if that concerns you, but if banks become aware that your spouse/partner has lost capacity and you've still been using the account, they can freeze the joint account.

So at the very least get the financial one completed now, certificated and witnessed, and make sure you get it sent off soon. And maybe get a sole account as back up?

I didn’t realise they could freeze a joint account? What the point in having one then? 😃

Well, when one of you dies, the account transfers automatically and seamlessly to the other, and while you're still alive and have capacity life is simpler too.

The freezing is to protect the interests of the partner who lacks capacity. I'm sure it doesn't happen often, but it's to stop one person cleaning out the account and running off with their lover, leaving someone in a coma, for example.

We spent the last couple of years hoping the bank never asked to see FiL for any reason. We'd tried to get him to do LPA before he lost the plot, but he wasn't having it. It was one of the first things MiL did after he died.

lr1277

If you are not aware, the Health LPA only comes into effect when the donor (the patient) has lost capacity. Until then medical staff will continue to ask the patient to make any decisions, which you as an attorney may disagree (with the both the asking the patient and the decision made by the patient) with but that is the patient's right. By medical staff I mean ambulance staff, GP staff and hospital staff.

You could also have the Do Not Resuscitate conversation with the donor. That is also asked by the above named medical staff.

With the Financial and Property LPA the attorney can act on behalf of the donor before the donor has lost capacity. There might even be a section on the application form for the donor to allow that. Also the donor has to give permission for any actions if they have not yet lost capacity.