What is your approach to risk and will it affect your decisions about LPAs

Do you consider yourself to be a cautious person who considers all the possible outcomes of each situation or are you more inclined to trust to luck and hope that all will end well?

When planning your holiday do you always ensure you have holiday insurance in place or do you think nothing will happen to me and my belongings so not bother to take any out?

Do you have home contents insurance so that you are covered in the case of fire, flood or burglary or have you decided that the risk is so small that there is no need to bother?

Have you put in place Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) for Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare or have you thought that I won’t ever need anyone to help me with my finances and any health issues I may face in the future so why would I do that?

Everyone’s attitude to risk is different and what seems a sensible precaution to one person might seem ridiculous to another. If you are one of those people who never takes out insurance then you may instinctively think you can manage without an LPA. However, you should make that decision from a position of understanding so  please read on.

We all know that people are living longer now but that good health, either mental or physical, is not guaranteed for the all of our lives. Some of us may reach the age of 90 still fit enough to run a marathon and completing the Times crossword every morning but I would bet that most of us probably won’t be quite so agile either physically or mentally by that age.

So bearing that in mind, if you were given the opportunity today to choose who should look after you and your affairs if you were no longer able to do so wouldn’t it seem sensible to do just that?

In fact we do have that opportunity and in a nutshell it is the idea behind Lasting Powers of Attorney. You choose who you want to help you in the event that you are not able to do all the things you hope to be able to for the rest of your life.

Those people that you choose should be the ones that you can trust implicitly and who you know would put your wishes and needs before their own as you would be giving them absolute authority to act in your place in relation to your finances and decisions about your health.

I have suggested that these documents may be useful to us in later life, but actually they can also be very relevant earlier on. Take a moment to consider how you and your family would cope if you could suddenly no longer act for yourself?  If you also own and run your own business, the case for making an LPA may be even stronger to ensure that the right people would look after your business for you until you were once again able to take decisions for yourself.

Isn’t it time to consider all the possible outcomes and make sure that you have put in place something to help you if there comes a time when you can’t help yourself?

To find out more about making an LPA, please contact one of our team in the Probate department at any one of our five offices.

Find out more about our Lasting Powers of Attorney services

This article aims to supply general information, but it is not intended to constitute advice. Every effort is made to ensure that the law referred to is correct at the date of publication and to avoid any statement which may mislead. However, no duty of care is assumed to any person and no liability is accepted for any omission or inaccuracy. Always seek advice specific to your own circumstances.  Fraser Dawbarns LLP are always happy to provide such advice.