A Sense of Urgency - Lasting Power of Attorney

Twelve months ago I saw an email sent to all staff at work that mentioned Lasting Power of Attorney, which was also refered to by my friend in work Ian. Ian wrote an eloquent and moving blog post of his experience caring for his mother and father with dementia, which twelve months later prompted me to type my own thoughts and experiences.

The Lasting Power of Attorney covers two important issues that most of us will have to deal with as our parents reach the end of their lives. They cover the financial affair's, such as banking, paying bills and collecting pensions and health and welfare. You can read the rest by following the above link.

I can't stress enough how important it is to get these forms registered before your parents succumb to something as distressing as the various forms of dementia or any other wasting disease. What struck me was the cost of using a lawyer to register these papers for you. According to the email I'd read, the charge would be about £300, plus the cost of registering, which is £110. You can do it yourself by filling in the forms online and printing off the parts that need to be signed. A doctor will have to sign one part of the form, which will incur a cost. The person who sent the email stated £30 for the doctors time; that's a saving you can't ignore if you are on a low wage. Now comes the sense of urgency, your parents have to be of sound mind to sign the forms, and the doctor will be there to make that judgment.

We should have registered the Lasting Power of Attorney twelve months back, especially after my dad had his infections; that was a big mistake. And again in the summer when I was reminded.Completely stupid of me. Now we are in the situation where both my mother and father could soon be unfit to sign them.

Filling in the form online (or printing it out) is easy enough if you have all the details handy. Get it done!