Care Home Fees - Protecting Your Home
17/11/2011
As a nation, we are living longer and the prospect of funding expensive care home fees from our...
Find out more >
- Client services
Sign up for our newsletter
Elderly Care & Mental Incapacity
As a nation we are living longer and therefore planning for old age is essential. Not only do we need to consider our own mortality by ensuring we have an appropriate Will in place but also understanding the consequences that incapacity might have.
Planning for the future
Whether the incapacity is physical or mental it will limit our ability to look after our own affairs and make decisions on our own behalf. We therefore advise all clients to put in place Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA). Putting in place an LPA allows you to appoint someone to deal with your affairs should you become mentally or physically incapable of doing so yourself.
LPAs come in two forms one (Property and Financial Affairs) which allows you to appoint someone to look after your finances managing your investments, income and expenditure. The LPA (Personal Welfare) allows you to appoint someone to help decide what medical treatment and care you receive.
Without an LPA you can be left in limbo where no one can deal with your finances or personal care and in the circumstances an application would have to be made to the Court of Protection which can take 6 months before anyone (know as a Deputy) is appointed to act and even then you will not have any control over who would be appointed.
When considering the future thought must also be given to likelihood of some form of long term care being required and where the burden of such cost will fall. You do not need to have too much capital before you are expected to fund your own care. Planning prior to requiring care can take some or all of your assets outside of the reach of the local authority such that they would have to cover the cost of care and your own finances could be used to either top up the local authority contribution to afford a better standard of care or allow for greater funds to be passed to the next generation.
For more information about how arrange your LPA please contact Our Private Client Team.
