Have you set up an LPA?

[MiniMum97]

Hi

We are looking at setting up LPAs for myself and my husband - both financial and health ones. Am struggling with how best we could set these up as there are lots of options.

• I would be interested in hearing what you options you went for, and who you have as attorneys and why?

• Did you opt for attorneys to act jointly, jointly and severally, or jointly for some decisions and jointly and severally for other decisions?

• If the latter, which decisions did you want to be made jointly?

• Did you leave instructions for your attorneys?

• Did you opt for the LPA to start straight away as it advises, or only if you don't have capacity - I was going to opt for the latter but the form says this can cause problems...

• I don't really know much about what we may need to consider when thinking about a health LPA as haven't been in the situation ourselves - has anyone experienced this and have any thoughts on it? Am thinking both about care options and medical decisions.

Many thanks!

We have our DDs as attorneys. Plus each other. You register it immediately but obviously you don’t have an attorney until you need one. You action it before you get too ill to do it. Jointly for some major decisions. Jointly for everything is very difficult to organise. So DH can act alone for some decisions but others need everyone to agree.

We went to a solicitor and had excellent advice regarding making these decisions. What we did might not suit you or your circumstances. It’s important it’s right so take advice where you need to make choices. I think the form tells you what is the most usual decision.

Hi @BubblesBuddy thanks for your reply. Can I ask why you opted for some joint decisions when your husband is an attorney? I can't think of any decisions I would not be happy for him to make in his own financial decision. It's joint money so I don't see why my DS would suddenly need to get involved?

The only thingI thought if was if I was in a long term coma or something and my DH was in a new relationship. I suppose I would want my DS's inheritance protected in some way. However I don't think it's fair necessarily for my DH to ha d to get permission from my DS tip sell his own home and move for example.

This is the type of thing I am trying to work out. It seems you have to try to think of all the possible scenarios so your LPA works in all different situations.

Are you aware that joint decision LPAs stop working altogether if one or the attorneys withdraws or cannot be an attorney eg they died. So if you were in a car accident with your DH and he died and you were in a coma then the joint decision parts of your LPA would no longer work at all.

Also did you opt that the LPA only becomes active when you become mentally incapable. It says in the guide that this can lead to a situation where proof is required of this every time the attorneys need to action something sounds problematic potentially.

Would welcome your thoughts.

Thanks again for your reply.

I'm a solicitor and write loads of these! My worry about joint decisions is if one attorney (usually the spouse due to age) predeceases and the donor has either lost capacity by then or doesn't fancy doing the whole thing again.

Just something to weigh up.

As far as Health goes, no choice about when it works, but for Property & FA most people opt for it being immediately valid (once registered of course) as there are very valid reasons that a donor might want help (sight problems, mobility problems, short term memory etc) but hasn't lost capacity.

So in fact reading your second post we mostly agree. I need to go to bed I think!

Thanks @Namechangeforthiscancershit that is as I thought. I was thinking of just putting DH as my sole attorney with my DS and one of my BILs as replacements so if anything happened to DH they could step in. Was thinking of saying that DS and BIL had to act jointly though as DS is very young (and perhaps rethink it in 10 years when he has had some more life experience), even with the concerns about joint attorneys.

We are looking at changing from joint tenants to tenants in common so I could be sure that if I died and my DH remarried, my DS would still receive his inheritance. Once we've done this, I would really like my DS to be consulted on any decision re selling the house - is this possible to add in as an instruction if he is not an attorney?

DDs get involved over house sale. One attorney acting alone can make poor decisions. We felt it was a family decision.

Your money is in your house. So the house doesn’t all belong to your spouse. You might need that money. You cannot have it if DH has taken it all. We just wanted consultation on it.

You need to write a will and consider how your share in your house will be left to your DS. Will it have to be sold upon your death? What happens if your DH is still living in it and is not going to remarry? I don’t think you have to change to tenants in common to write such a will.

Generally the set up you describe is done by incorporating a trust into your Will. Your DH and your DS are both beneficiaries so no need to sell the house while DH is alive, but he can't give "your" share to a new wife or new family. Yes tenants in common would be needed to make it work.

Unfortunately sometimes the kids of the first to die (even when they are joint) get disinherited because of pressure within the family, by accident (eg people dying intestate or as JT) or just because it hasn't all been thought through. Sad I think.

We have financial and health LPAs, giving each other full control.

Thanks @Namechangeforthiscancershit I don't think my question was very clear. What I meant was when we have changed to tenants in common (and own the house 50/50 rather than jointly), if I was to lose capacity I think I would want my DS to have some say if DH wanted to sell the house, but I wouldn't necessarily want my DS as an attorney - could I add this as an instruction instead?

Your LPA would only over a situation where you are alive so there isn't much your spouse/attorney can do anyway as how you own the property isn't relevant yet and the attorney has to be acting in your best interests.

Adding guidance that DS should be consulted wouldn't be legally binding but won't do any hard as long as it's only a preference. You can't make him a quasi-attorney