A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for property and financial affairs is a document which allows you to appoint someone to make certain financial decisions on your behalf. This includes paying bills, managing bank accounts and selling your property, should there ever be a time when you are physically or mentally unable to do so yourself.
It is impossible to know whether you, your partner or a parent will ever be in a position to need someone to act for you, but the consequences of being in that position and being unprepared are so potentially devastating that preparation is imperative.
The One Show recently highlighted a situation in which a 42 year old man was injured in a jet ski accident which left him in a coma for three years. He had no Power of Attorney, which meant that his wife had to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as his Deputy. This application can cost thousands of pounds and can take many months.
Perhaps a more common situation is that of a married couple, living in a house that is jointly owned. If one spouse loses capacity through a stroke or dementia and moves into a residential home, the other may not be able to afford to remain in the house and may wish to sell to buy a smaller property. Not only will it be necessary to make an application for a Deputy for their spouse, but it will also be necessary to make a separate application to the Court to enable the property to be sold. Both applications could have been completely avoided by having a Power of Attorney in place.
An LPA is therefore vital . Think of it as a one off insurance premium. Once done it can simply be put away and forgotten, but you can rest assured in the knowledge that you have done all that it is possible to do to protect yourself and your family against any unforeseen future problems.
Contact Oratto on 0845 3883765 to speak with an adviser or use our contact form to arrange a call-back.
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Last year, the government decided that its April 2016 flagship policy to cap care costs will now face a four-year delay until 2020, stating that it cannot afford to make "expensive new commitments like this" at a time of austerity.
In consideration of the one in ten people who enter the care system and incur costs over £100,000, the government had promised that care fees would be limited to £72,000 for each person in a care home.
The decision to delay the care cost cap affects those who are already in a care home as well as those who will need such care over the next five years. Each group potentially faces having to give up everything they have worked for at a time which is already incredibly difficult for them and their families. A cap on care costs might have offered some comfort at this difficult time.
Current residents of care homes, in particular, will now have to pay an additional five years' worth of fees before their costs count towards anything.
While an experienced lawyer cannot fulfil the promise the Conservatives made to ensure that "no one has to sell their home" to pay for their care, they can help by protecting assets from potential liability of care home fees through careful planning.
Contact Oratto on 0845 3883765 to speak with an adviser or use our contact form to arrange a call-back.
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The Care Act 2014 introduced a legal duty for each Local Authority to assess every self-funding resident of a care home in their locality, but this duty has since been delayed until April 2020.
However, a recent decision by the Local Government Ombudsman against North East Lincolnshire Council confirms that a Local Authority does have a legal duty to assess its self-funding care home residents once they approach the upper capital threshold. This decision was made after the council failed to assess a resident’s contribution towards her residential care costs when the value of her remaining capital fell towards the upper capital threshold of £23,250.
“C” was a permanent resident in a care home and owned a property which had an estimated value that exceeded the upper capital threshold. The council agreed to enter into a deferred payment agreement (DPA) creating a debt equal to the costs of her care against her property that would be repaid once her house was sold.
When her debt reduced her remaining capital to below the threshold, C should have started to pay a reduced contribution for her care, but the council did not carry out a reassessment. This meant that when C died and her house was sold to pay the debt, the estate was left with less capital.
The Local Government Ombudsman found that there had been fault causing injustice. The Council was found to have failed to carry out a financial assessment when the value of C’s remaining capital reached £23,250. The final debt to the council should not have included contributions that were payable by the council once the capital fell below the threshold.
Historically, an assessment has not occurred unless requested by the care home resident or his/her representative (e.g. Attorney or Court-appointed Deputy). Those who are self-funding in a care home should therefore take note. Oratto can assist in arranging financial assessment for care home fees, and challenging incorrect assessments. Just contact us today to arrange a consultation with one of our specialist litigation solicitors.
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There has recently been a landmark decision in the High Court regarding the withdrawal of life sustaining treatment for a terminally ill person.
The patient's daughter made an application to cease artificial feeding and hydration, on the basis that her mother was in the end stages of multiple sclerosis, could only move her eyes, and was described by medical experts as being minimally conscious.
The judge agreed that in consideration of the way the woman had lived her life and to preserve her dignity, she would have wanted treatment to cease. Evidence was received by the Court from friends, relatives and medical experts. The Official Solicitor who was appointed to represent the patient's interests withdrew their opposition to the application.
An important distinction should be drawn between this withdrawal of life sustaining treatment, and assisted suicide. The withdrawal of life sustaining treatment is classed as omitting to treat someone whereas assisted suicide is taking a positive step to bring someone's life to an end (for example, administering a drug which would result in death). Assisted suicide is still unlawful.
Situations such as these will continue to be dealt with by the Court on a case by case basis, taking account of each patient's quality of life and ability to benefit from the continuation of treatment.
However, if the patient had made a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare then their Attorney could have been given the power to make decisions in relation to life sustaining treatment, and a court application would not have been needed.
Contact Oratto on 0845 3883765 to speak with an adviser or use our contact form to arrange a call-back.
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A recent decision made by a number of high street banks means that the amount that will be released from a deceased customer's account without a formal Grant of Representation has increased. However, this may not be the good news it seems at first sight.
The usual process when someone dies is that banks and building societies freeze their accounts until the person dealing with the estate - the Executor (where there is a Will) or the Administrator (where there is no Will) - has applied for the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration. In the meantime, the only access allowed to accounts is to pay the funeral bill and any Inheritance Tax. This ensures that the right person deals with the estate, and the estate passes to the correct beneficiaries.
That said, the Small Estates Procedure has always allowed accounts holding less than a set amount of money to be closed without the need for a Grant. This amount is no more than £5,000 but separate to this, each bank and building society has set its own limit where they will close an account without the need for a Grant.
Whilst the limit set by banks etc. has historically been up to £15,000, many high street banks have now made a decision to raise their limit, with some increasing it as high as £50,000.
It seems the thinking behind the increase is to make life easier for those dealing with the estate. However, obtaining a Grant is a legal requirement which helps ensure that the right person deals with the estate, and the right people are paid the correct amount of money.
Is it right that banks are now able to bypass this procedure and release large sums of money?
The risk now is that potentially large sums could be released to those who are neither responsible for dealing with the deceased's estate, nor a beneficiary of the estate.
Contact Oratto on 0845 3883765 to speak with an adviser or use our contact form to arrange a call-back.
