Why you should regularly review your power of attorney

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Keeping your Lasting Power of Attorney up to date is very important. Your circumstances may change – a relationship may come to an end, you may move house, or your health, including your mental health and ability to make decisions on your own, may be impacted. Keeping the LPA up to date ensures your attorney is able to act in your best interests.

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Power of Attorney Online

If you are thinking about creating an LPA or making changes to an existing one, you can find information about LPAs online at sites such as Power Of Attorney Online.

The importance of future planning

Ensuring that your LPA is accurate and up to date ensures that your current wishes will be honoured. For example, you may have different preferences for your future health care or your financial position may have changed, meaning that decisions about your assets may be impacted.

Also, an attorney may no longer be able to act on your behalf and may have to be replaced.

The Office of the Public Guardian provides information on reporting and making changes to your LPA. Although this information is useful, legal advice should also be sought.

What are the potential pitfalls of outdated information?

If your LPA is not updated as circumstances change, there can be legal consequences. Out-of-date information could mean that your attorney cannot represent your best interests.

This could lead to disputes arising if, for example, an attorney makes a decision which is not valid due to the LPA being out of date. Family members could also challenge an LPA which is not current, leading to what could be lengthy disputes involving lawyers.

If your LPA is outdated, there could be legal consequences. If details are not up to date, your attorney may not be able to make decisions in your best interests, risking miscommunication or disputes. Ensuring your LPA is updated helps to avoid these problems.

To update the LPA, you will need to complete the relevant official forms, liaise with certificate providers and register changes with the OPG.