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Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare

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Health & Welfare LPA

Protecting Your Healthcare and Welfare Decisions

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for Health and Welfare allows you (the donor) to appoint someone you trust (an attorney) to make decisions about your health and day-to-day welfare if you lose the mental capacity to make those decisions yourself. You can choose more than one attorney if you want to.

A Health and Welfare LPA can cover a range of decisions including about your medical treatment, your daily routine (including washing and eating), moving into a care home and life-sustaining treatment. Having this type of LPA gives you control over who will make crucial decisions about your healthcare and wellbeing, to ensure your wishes are respected even when you can no longer express them, thereby giving you peace of mind about your future care.

At Berlad Graham LLP, our private client team can guide you through the entire process of setting up a Health and Welfare LPA, ensure you fully understand what is being included, and assist you with registering your LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

For specialist advice on setting up an LPA for Health and Welfare, please get in touch with our friendly team to discuss the next steps. Please call 0330 175 5655 or email info@bglaw.co.uk.

What can you include in a Health and Welfare LPA?

A Health and Welfare LPA gives your appointed attorney(s) the authority to make important decisions about your personal welfare, including (but not limited to) matters concerning:

Medical treatment, including consenting to or refusing medical treatments, procedures, and medications on your behalf.
Your daily routine, which could include decisions about your day-to-day care, such as washing, dressing, and eating.
Your living arrangements, including decisions about whether you will stay in your home or move into a care facility.
Life-sustaining treatment. If you specifically authorise it, your attorney can make decisions about receiving treatment or procedures to keep you alive. The exact decisions they can make for you depend on what you put in your lasting power of attorney. There are also certain conditions regarding refusal of medical treatment, which our team can help you understand more clearly.

With this form of LPA, you can include various restrictions on what your attorney can and cannot do, and what they can make decisions about, giving you control over how much authority they have. A Health & Welfare LPA only comes into effect once you lack the mental capacity to make these decisions for yourself. Until that point, you remain fully in control of your own care and medical decisions.

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When does a Health and Welfare LPA take effect?

Unlike a Property & Financial Affairs LPA, which can be used as soon as it is registered with the OPG, a Health & Welfare LPA only comes into effect after you have lost mental capacity. This means that:

Your attorney cannot make decisions for you while you still have the mental capacity to make those decisions yourself.
This protection ensures you maintain control over your healthcare and welfare decisions for as long as possible. Your appointed attorney(s) will only take over when you genuinely cannot make decisions for yourself.

Loss of mental capacity must be properly assessed, typically by medical professionals, before your attorney can act. This safeguard protects you from premature intervention while ensuring help is available when you need it.

Before creating a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare, it must be proven that you understand the nature of the LPA you are creating, and the powers it gives your chosen Attorneys. The test that must be satisfied before you can make an LPA is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Why Do I Need a Health & Welfare LPA?

Many people mistakenly assume that their spouse or next of kin will automatically be able to make medical or welfare decisions for them if they lose the capacity to do so. Unfortunately, this is just a myth.

If you lose capacity without an LPA in place, even if you are married or in a civil partnership, your loved ones might have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a ‘deputy’ for your financial affairs and/or your health & welfare decisions. This can prove stressful, time-consuming and costly. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the individual appointed will be the person you would have chosen.

Without a Health & Welfare LPA:

Doctors make decisions about your treatment based on what they consider to be in your best interests.
Family members, including your spouse, will have no automatic legal authority to make decisions for you.
Your spouse, civil partner, long-term partner, children, or parents cannot consent to or refuse treatment on your behalf.
Disagreements between family members can arise about the best course of action.
Your wishes may not be known or respected.

Setting up a Health and Welfare LPA avoids these problems by giving someone you trust legal authority to make these decisions for you and in accordance with your wishes.

Please read Who Needs an LPA? for more information.

Hear from our clients

We're proud to have supported individuals, families and businesses through some of life's most important legal matters. Read what our clients have to say about their experience, the service they received and the results we helped them achieve.

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Solicitors for Health and Welfare LPA

Our Lasting Power of Attorney solicitors can assess your needs, consider your circumstances, and ensure the Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare is comprehensive so that your wishes are carried out, and you fully understand the responsibilities your attorneys will have.

Berlad Graham LLP has multiple accreditations, ensuring the highest standards are delivered to our clients. Our reputation, compliance and risk culture are extremely important to us, as it ensures that we provide a transparent, trustworthy and high-quality service.

We can also provide specialist advice regarding the following:

Lasting Power of Attorney for Property & Financial Affairs
Court of Protection and Deputyship applications.
Protecting vulnerable clients.
Lasting Power of Attorney and Deputyship Disputes.
Wills and Estate Planning.
Estate Administration.
Wills and Probate Disputes.

We are here to support you. For specialist advice on setting up an LPA for Health and Welfare, get in touch with our friendly team to discuss the next steps. Please call 0330 175 5655 or email info@bglaw.co.uk.

Our Team

Raanan Berlad

Managing Partner

Liora Torn-Hibler

Head of Private Client

Hannah Price

Partner

Daniel Brown

Trainee Solicitor

Wills

Estate Planning

Lasting Powers of Attorney

Court of Protection & Deputyship

Contentious Probate

Wills and Inheritance Quality Accreditation

Berlad Graham LLP is proud to hold the Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQS) accreditation as awarded by The Law Society. This accreditation demonstrates that:

We have the expertise to deliver Wills and inheritance advice.
We use standardised processes to recognise and reduce risks.
We educate clients about what to expect when buying Wills and inheritance advice.

    
 
 
      Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Sam Clifford is phenomenal. True professional in the field, incredible in his communication, really commercial and creative in conveyancing solutions. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone - Keep it up fella!
  
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   Henry Hudson 
 11/12/2024
 
 
 
     Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Susan from the Cumbria office is by far the best solicitor we've ever had the pleasure of working with. She was polite, courteous and always did what was best for us. When the vendors were trying to bring the completion date forward, and we were not ready, she spoke to the necessary parties and took the pressure off us. Susan was always very clear on what documents she needed from us and when she did receive them acted on them quickly and efficiently. If Susan was going to be on annual leave, she would always let us know, so we are not worried if we cannot reach her or if she does not respond. Just overall, Susan was a dream to work with and, coupled with the very competitive rates offered for the completion of the purchase of our house, we will definitely be looking to work with Berlan Graham and Susan in particular in the future, when we come to sell this property. Thank you for your utter constant professionalism, Susan. Best wishes!
  
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   Georgi Dimitrov 
 16/11/2024
 
 
 
     Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Well where do I start? This is the second time I’ve used Claire and Laura (and Alex) from the Cumbrian team. They have been amazing from start to finish! Even on the day before completion when my sellers solicitor went awol, they called me to explain and discussed my options. On completion date they were in contact with me and even now a week after completion they are still helping me with issues I’m having with my sellers.

Thank you so much girls for all of your help and support. Me and Lisa couldn’t have done it without you. You are all amazing!
  
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   Anna Taylor 
 08/08/2024
 
 
 
     Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We had heard horror stories about solicitors being unresponsive and unhelpful. Thankfully, Berlad Graham Solicitors do not follow this trend. We worked with Claire Brownlie and were thoroughly impressed by her assistance throughout the entire home-buying process. As first-time buyers, we were unfamiliar with the procedures, but Claire guided us through each step and put us completely at ease.

Claire's exceptional patience and support were invaluable, and I would not hesitate to use her services again.
  
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   Rachel Flinn 
 25/07/2024
 
 
 
     Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I instructed BG Law for conveyancing services.  Samuel Clifford was my primary contact.  He was highly professional, easy to contact and provided regular updates.  I was very happy with service levels and would easily recommend.
  
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   Sushy “SC” C 
 07/01/2024
 
 
 
     Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Brilliant solicitors. On the ball and efficient. Would recommend
  
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   Lee Taylor-McCormick 
 11/08/2023
 
 
 
     Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Claire has been outstanding in handling my case for a house sale. Great communication, always responsive to emails and kept me updated on the process. I didn't need to chase them like I did with previous solicitors and they definitely restored my trust and faith in dealing with the matter so efficiently. It couldn't have run any smoother.
They have been the easiest solicitors to deal with to date and I will be recommending them to friends and family in the future.
  
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   Izzy Mc 
 28/06/2023
 
 
 
     Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Taslim has been an absolute godsend for us! Fought in our corner every step of the way and helped us navigate some tricky situations with extremely pushy estate agents. We were first time buyers who had no clue about what to do and Taslim was very patient in explaining the whole process to us. Couldn't recommend enough.
  
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   Agnė Šniukštaitė 
 19/01/2023