What Happens If you don’t have a Property & Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?

What Happens if you don’t have a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney?

It is a common misconception that a Property and Financial Affairs LPA is only needed due to a serious accident, stroke, or even a degenerative condition such as Alzheimer’s.

If you should lose mental capacity and there is no Property and Financial Affairs LPA in place, your family and friends will not have an automatic authority to make decisions on your behalf with regards to your property and financial affairs. Instead, others could make decisions for you, and the decisions made, may not be what you would have wanted. This can cause disagreements between family members and professionals about what is best for you.

Here are just some things to consider as to what happens If you don’t have a Property & Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

• Joint bank account – your bank can remove access and freeze the account without an LPA, even if you and your spouse or partner have all your money in there; and

• Bills cannot be paid unless a kind family member pays on your behalf – but they will not be able to compensate themselves; and

• Your bank accounts cannot be accessed or managed; and

• Benefits cannot be claimed on your behalf; and

• Your home cannot be sold if you need to move into care; and

• Your mortgage deal may expire, and you won’t be able to re-mortgage your property.

What decisions can be made by your Attorneys on your behalf with a Property and Financial Affairs LPA?

Having this LPA in place will give your attorneys the authority to make the following decisions on your behalf:

• Managing bank accounts; and

• Paying bills (i.e. mortgage, rent and other household expenses); and

• Claim income and benefits for you; and

• Making decisions with regards to your home; and
• Buying or selling property to serve your best interests; and

• Managing your investments; and

• Insure, maintain or repair your property.

For further details, please refer to our Lasting Power of Attorney page.