This allows you to nominate one or more people to make decisions on your behalf regarding your personal health care and welfare. The people you nominate – the attorneys can only make these decisions if you lose mental capacity.
The attorneys can make decisions about the types of health care and medical treatment you will need; about whether you should stay in your home perhaps with the support of social services or other agencies; about the kind of accommodation you should move to in the event of you not being able to stay at home; and about day to day issues like your dress, diet and daily routine.
The health and welfare lasting power of attorney means you can plan in advance the decisions that you want be made on your behalf. You can set out how you want the attorneys to make those decisions. The health and welfare lasting power of attorney means that by choosing the right people to act for you and setting out how you want them to act you can control the decisions that they later make for you.
A health and welfare lasting power of attorney can speak up for you and act on your behalf if you are not able to do so yourself because for example you have had a stroke or are suffering from some other mental health issue.
Please remember that the health and welfare lasting power of attorney can only be used if it has been registered and if you have lost mental capacity.
You can have more than one attorney to act for you and you can authorise them to act together or separately. You should preferably appoint someone who knows you personally very well. The attorneys must at all times act in your best interests.
An alternative to a health and welfare lasting power of attorney is a living will. If you complete a living will then you are giving instructions to your medical advisors of what you want to happen should certain situations arise in the future.
At Dixon Stewart we are able to advise you as to what would be most appropriate for your circumstances. Call Jenny Eley today on 01425 621515 if you would like her to make an appointment to discuss the above with one of us
