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Plan for your future! – warns Manchester solicitor

Manchester law firm, Glaisyers, are warning people to plan for future mental incapacity before 1st October 2007, when a little-known piece of legislation will significantly complicate the current process.

Sion Roberts, specialist wills and probate solicitor at Glaisyers, explains: “Currently, most people opt for the preparation of an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) - a sensible, straightforward and cost effective way of planning in advance for future mental incapacity. An EPA basically means that someone is appointed to act in your best interests, should you become mentally incapable of managing your own affairs.

“Many people set up an EPA as a form of ‘insurance policy’, usually at the same time as dealing with wills and other age-related provisions. However, the opportunity will no longer be available when the Mental Capacity Act 2005 comes into effect on 1st October this year.”

The act will introduce a new system called a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) which means that it will no longer be possible to create an EPA. Unlike an EPA, an LPA must be registered and, because of the added complexity of the LPA regime, it is likely that the preparation of documents will be a much more time consuming and costly process.

Sion concludes: “This new legislation concerns me as it will inevitably mean that many people will be reluctant to have an LPA prepared, leaving themselves and their families at risk. The LPA regime will not come into effect until October and EPAs created before then will still remain valid under the new legislation.

“I would therefore urge everybody to act now and take this opportunity to ensure that they have the necessary provisions in place for a happy and enjoyable old age whilst it is still a reasonably straightforward procedure to do so. Contact your solicitor now who will be happy to discuss these issues and the wider issues relating to provisions for the future.”

Sion’s call to action comes as the UK faces an ageing population and just a fortnight after the BBC reported that as the population ages, the level of people with dementia is likely to rise from just over half a million now, to 750,000 in 2020.