A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal agreement between a donor (the person making the LPA) and their nominated attorney. This agreement enables the attorney to act for the donor and make decisions, when the donor can no longer do this for themselves. There are two types of LPA’s in the UK – Property & Finance and Health & Welfare.
LPA applications have risen substantially from 38,000 per year in 2008 to 771,822 in 2022, with over 6 million registered to date. Sadly, so have the number of LPA disputes. The Office of the Public Guardian carried out 2,464 investigations between 2021 to 2022 (which also included concerns about court appointed Deputies), up by over 400 on the previous year.
LPA disputes can include:
- Disagreements between attorneys on how they should act in the best interests of the donor.
- Issues concerning where and how care should be provided for the donor.
- Lack of communication passing between attorneys and friends or family members.
- Attorneys using a donor’s funds, residence or investments for their own benefit.
- Concerns that the donor may not have lost capacity, but the attorney has begun exercising their powers.
Disputes can be between attorneys, or between attorneys and the friends and family of the donor.
Unless the dispute can only be dealt with by a court, we feel that mediation has a role to play in clarifying the issues, sharing people’s points of view and finding a mutually acceptable solution. The first step is making contact with a mediator, to have a conversation about your case, to see how mediation works and to find out how to move forward.
Contact us at: https://arcresolution.co.uk/contact-us/
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