Decisions About Your Future Health and Welfare

Did you know that since 2007 it has been possible to make a lasting power of attorney (“LPA”) not just in relation to your property and financial affairs, but also in relation to your health and welfare? (Any Power of Attorney made before October 2007 deals with property and financial affairs only).

The purpose of a health and welfare LPA is to appoint one or more persons who would be able to make decisions about your health and welfare if you lost your mental capacity at any later point. This might include decisions about where you live, how you are cared for and what medical treatment you should (or should not) receive. Your attorney would be able to ask for your medical and/or care records and (if necessary) challenge any decisions made in relation to your health or welfare.

Before a health and welfare LPA can be used it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Another option is to create an Advance Decision to refuse medical treatment (commonly known as a “Living Will”). Rather than appointing someone else to make decisions for you in the future, such a document sets out your wishes for future medical treatment if you subsequently lack mental capacity and certain other circumstances arise (as specified in the document). Living Wills are much narrower in their application than health and welfare LPAs. However, they are particularly useful for those who prefer to specify their own wishes, rather than relying on other persons to make future decisions for them.