LPA Week: Who should I appoint to be my Attorney?

In day 3 of LPA Week, Rachel discusses who you should appoint to be your Attorney.

You can choose one or more people to be your attorney. They must be over 18 and have mental capacity. You could choose a relative, friend or a professional, such as a solicitor. They do not have to be resident in the UK or be a British Citizen.

Before choosing it is important to think about the following:

1)         Are they well organised and how good are they with their own affairs?

2)         How well do you know them?

3)         Do you trust that they would make decisions which are in your best interests?

4)         Would they be happy to make decisions on your behalf if they had to?

It is a good idea to speak with the person or people you wish to appoint and discuss with them the responsibilities they will have as your attorney.

You can appoint more than one person to be your attorney, but you will need to decide how they will make decisions. They can be appointed ‘jointly’ so all decisions must be made together. Or they can be appointed ‘jointly and severally’ which means decisions can be made on their own or together (often seen as more practical).

There is the option to nominate replacement attorneys too.

Although our offices are currently closed, we are still very much open for business. If you wish to discuss the above, please do get in touch and we shall be happy to assist.