You may wish to prepare for the possibility that one day in the future, you may no longer be able to manage your own affairs - perhaps because of physical disability or mental frailty. A solicitor will be able to advise you how to go about this, depending on your personal circumstances.
Can I ask someone else to take over my affairs?
If you decide that managing your own affairs is getting too much for you, you
can appoint someone else to do it for you by making a power of attorney. This
is a legal document which authorises another person (the attorney) to act on
your behalf. It is advisable to make an enduring power of attorney (EPA),
a special type of power of attorney which remains valid if you later become
mentally incapable of managing your affairs.
An EPA enables you - while you are still mentally capable - to choose who you would like to look after your property and financial affairs. You can appoint one or more attorneys, and you can give your attorney(s) general powers to manage all your affairs, or you can specify what your attorney(s) can or cannot do. You can also choose whether you want your attorney to act jointly with you or take over while you are still capable, or only after you become mentally incapacitated. A solicitor can act as your attorney if you wish, or you can choose a friend or relative, or a combination of these.
If you become incapable, your attorney must register the power with the Public Trust Office, which is responsible for overseeing the affairs of people who cannot manage for themselves because of mental incapacity. You will be notified when this happens, so you will have a chance to object if you feel you are not yet ready to give up control.
It is best to ask a solicitor to help you draw up an EPA. While it is possible to do so yourself, there are special procedures to be followed and forms to fill in which must be completed, signed and witnessed. Everything must be done properly, otherwise the EPA may prove to be invalid.
Can my attorney make other decisions?
You can only delegate to your attorney the authority to make decisions about
your property or financial affairs. Your attorney cannot make any personal decisions
on your behalf, such as where you should live or whether or not to give consent
to medical treatment.
Consent to medical treatment
Some people are worried about being given medical treatment which is unacceptable
to them, or being kept alive through artificial means when they are no longer
mentally capable of refusing or withdrawing consent to medical treatment. It
is possible to make an advance directive or statement, also known as a 'living
will', setting out in advance what kind of medical treatment you wish or do
not wish to receive - in case you subsequently become incapable of giving or
refusing consent or of communicating that decision.
You must be mentally capable at the time of making the living will and not influenced by others. You must also understand the nature and effect of any treatment you wish to refuse, and have considered the actual situation in which treatment may be needed and the consequences of refusing it (for example that you may die as a result of refusing treatment). So long as these conditions are clear, then doctors or other medical practitioners are obliged to comply with your wishes to refuse treatment, as set out in the living will. However, doctors cannot be required to give a particular form of treatment, unless they agree it is clinically necessary.
A solicitor should be able to prepare a living will in accordance with your personal wishes and requirements. It would also be wise for you to discuss this with your GP and with members of your family so they are aware that you have made a living will.
