Among the most important decisions you and older parents would take in life, power of attorney in London is amongst the biggest decisions of all. Eventually, at some point, your parents might get ill and they would decide who they have chosen to handle their accounts and property once they are gone. At that time it is important that you know about the power of attorney. The person who has the access to all the accounts once your parents are gone is known as the power of attorney. Let us get to know more in detail about the power of attorney. 

 

What does power of attorney mean?

The power of attorney is a legalized document that has the will of someone when they were in their mental capacity to nominate someone who they trust. They can be someone from their family or anyone they trust. Once they are not capable of handling it themself the power of attorney is responsible for managing their account and will. The person who elects the person to hand over the power of attorney in London is called a donor whereas the person who gets the power of attorney is known as the attorney. 

The process of choosing the power of attorney is only carried out when the donor is in their full capacity. The power of attorney is only applicable for dealing with the third party once the donor loses their mental stability. This implies that someone else cannot override the chives that are set up in the legal department. Hence, power of attorney to the attorney is only applicable when the donor has lost their mental capacity.

 

Why do your parents need power of attorney? 

There is a time in everyone’s life when they are unable to do things on their own and make their own decision, they are not capable enough to do it. There is a common misconception about the fact that only elderly people whose age is above 60 years require a power of attorney. As the ongoing Covid crisis looms over us, it is essential that you get a power of attorney done for your parents. It is better if you get a power of attorney in London at the place, it would be really less stressful. 

 

Various Types of the power of attorney

There are a plethora of options you have when initiating power of attorney for your parents or loved ones, let us take a look at some of the options that would help you choose the most reliable option for the purpose of power of attorney. 

 

For a power of attorney that lasts long-

It is amongst the most common types of power of attorney and should be chosen most preferably. Here are two different types of power of attorney

 

 

  • FInancial and property advice

 

In case you plan on becoming a power of attorney for your parents, It would be your power to make the financial decisions regarding the money and the property on behalf of your parents. 

The financial decisions include-

  • The management of a bank account
  • Management of the building society account
  • Payment of the bills. 
  • Collection of benefits or pension.

-Health and welfare

This means that you would be responsible for the daily healthcare needs of your parents. This includes taking care of their washing, dressing, and eating, providing them medical care, Making care decisions such as moving them into a care home and providing them with life-sustaining treatments. 

 

Enduring power of attorney

It is an old version that was replaced by the lasting power of attorney.  However in case, your parents have chosen this earlier, it would still be valid in case the mental capacity of your parents is lost. 

Ordinary power of attorney

The ordinary power of attorney includes managing the financial situation of someone only temporarily. Your parents may want to provide you this power of attorney in case they are going abroad or having a physical injury at a point in time. The parents have the mental capacity. They would allow you to handle their finances only for a short duration of time. In case the donor wants to stop their financial liberty, they can stop it with immediate effect. 

 

The time period of a power of attorney

The power of attorney lasts till the death of the donor in case of the lasting power of attorney, in the case of an ordinary power of attorney it ends as soon as the donor wants it to end. 

What is more important, a will or a power of attorney

Both the legal documents, will, and the power of attorney is equally important since they are hand in hand with each other. The power of attorney ensures that the person’s decisions are valued for a lifetime, whereas the will makes sure that the decisions of the person are carried out even after they have passed as well. 

Conclusion

Once your parents get old, they would, unfortunately, lose their mental capacity at some point in time. It is important at that time there must be someone you can handle their finances and legal terms. The person they allot the power of attorney is someone they trust and hence it can be ensured that they are safe for their lifetime. Becoming a power of attorney in London comes with a lot of responsibilities, but it is totally worth it in the case of parents.

Also visit:  Notary Public UK