Elderly Clients & Long-Term Care Planning

You need to plan for the future well before it becomes too difficult for you to deal with your own affairs. Planning for future care needs and possible mental or physical incapacity should be looked at when you know how you would want to be cared for and who you would want to make decisions for you.

Powers of attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”) is a document that appoints one or more people to act on your behalf during your lifetime. There are two types of LPA – one covering health and welfare decisions, the other dealing with your property and finance. LPAs replaced Enduring Powers of Attorney (“EPA”) in October 2007. If you had an EPA made before that time then this can still be used in future.

If you did not have an EPA or LPA and then lost mental capacity, an application would have to be made to the court for a deputy to be appointed on your behalf. This is a much more complicated, expensive and time-consuming procedure than if you had signed an EPA or LPA.
You may think now that it will never happen to you, but if you do lose your capacity in the future, would you really want people you hadn’t chosen to be making decisions on your behalf?

Long-Term Care Planning

You cannot simply give away your assets in an attempt to avoid paying nursing home care fees, as local authorities have extensive powers to bring back assets in calculating your capital.

An outright gift of your home may not be of benefit to you in terms of long-term care planning. However, if for other reasons you still wish to give the property to family members, we would recommend you do so through the use of a trust. This would allow you to continue to live in the property but would provide some protection to the property.