Lasting Powers of Attorney – a response to Judge Denzil Lush

Retired senior judge at the Court of Protection, Denzil Lush recently stated that he would never grant anyone a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) himself because of the serious risk of abuse.

On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Lush warned the public of the risks of signing an LPA. He put this down to the lack of safeguards that leave the process open to potential abuse. The judge stated that he would prefer the alternative situation, where the Court of Protection itself appoints deputies. Under a deputyship, he argues that there is greater scrutiny, accountability, supervision and security because of the requirement to provide a full list of assets and annual accounts. However, the process is often lengthy and far more costly than attorneys operating under an LPA.

An LPA is a legal document authorising one or more chosen people (your attorneys) to make decisions on your behalf during your lifetime. There are two types of LPA – a) property and finance and b) health and welfare, and you can decide whether to make one or both types. LPAs can be extremely useful in circumstances where you lack the physical or mental capacity to deal with your own affairs and in our experience cases of abuse are thankfully relatively few and far between.

If you have any questions or you would to make LPAs please do contact us.

Lindsey Sharples is a solicitor in the private client team at Barker Gotelee, Solicitors in Ipswich.

Personal Solicitors Ipswich – click here for more information on our range of services