Do A Lasting Power of Attorney

 In Health, Longevity, pensioners

Ann and I live in our cosy little seaside bubble. We have no children and in the event of one of us becoming gaga, how do we best protect each other? The advice was to take out a lasting power of attorney for one another. It arose because we jointly own a property and nursing home fees were our concern. A decent nursing home here will cost £60,000 per year. These homes only accept residents who can assure them of a minimum four years funding, the sum of £240,000. If that money needed to come from downsizing our property then its no problem – or is it?

Joint ownership

If I, as a joint owner become gaga, Ann cannot sell the property. Any ISA or other investment in my name cannot be accessed. Ann would have to pay my nursing home fees from money only she can access. Now you see the problem. Imagine it, I have lost my mental capacity, Ann cannot sell the property in order to downsize. As the average stay in a nursing home is four years, the problem might not resolve until I die. It could be a decade or more.

Do a lasting power of attorney

You can go to a solicitor but we decided to do it ourselves. It was not the worst job I have ever done but it was close. We needed two LPA’s each, one for property and finance and one for health and wellbeing. The final download was four times 22 pages, a total of 88 pages. There were 28 signatures to be done in sequence by us and a witness. Then we sent them off to the Office of the Public Guardian. They were £82.00 each, a total of £328.00. Yes, the printer did object half way through the process!

Resuscitate or not?

I can now rest easy. Whatever gets me, Ann can assess whether I can recover or not, and pull the plug. She knows that if I am in a vegetative state then I do not want my life to be prolonged or to be resuscitated. Jokingly, I have said that if I cannot mow the lawns then its time for my pagan paradise. For her, it’s whether she can bake her cakes. If not, the meal’s over. Imagine it, no more of her chocolate slice: I’d rather be dead.

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