HEALTH AND WELFARE LPA

A Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to plan ahead with regard to your personal healthcare and welfare by choosing one or more people to make decisions on your behalf.

These personal welfare decisions can only be taken by somebody else (a close friend or family member) when you lack the ability to make decisions regarding your treatment or other personal matters for yourself; for example if you are unconscious or because of the onset of a condition such as dementia.

The Attorney(s) you appoint to make personal welfare decisions will only be able to use this power once the LPA has been registered and provided that you cannot make the required decision for yourself.

You can decide to give your Attorney the power to make decisions about any or all of your personal welfare matters, including healthcare matters. This could involve some significant decisions, such as:

• giving or refusing consent to particular types of health care, including medical treatment decisions; or 

• whether you continue to live in your own home, perhaps with help and support from social services, or whether residential care would be more appropriate for you.

You may wish your Attorney(s) to have the power to make decisions about ‘life-sustaining treatment’, if you do then you have to expressly give your chosen Attorney(s) the power to make such decisions.

You can also give your Attorney(s) the power to make decisions about day-to-day aspects of your personal welfare, such as your diet, your dress, or your daily routine. It is up to you which of these decisions you want to allow your Attorney to make. 

 This type of LPA does not allow the person(s) you have chosen (your Attorney) to make decisions about your financial matters. If you want someone to be able to make financial decisions on your behalf you will need to make a Property & Financial  LPA. 

 You can make a Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney or a Property and Financial Lasting Power of Attorney on their own or you can do both at the same time.  You do not have to appoint the same people for each. To find out more or to book an appointment call us on 01252 268862