Do it. It'll give you peace of mind. If you do it yourself (and it's really not difficult to do), the only costs will be the registration which at present are £110. This reduces to £55 if the donor earns less than £12,000 a year or to nothing if they are on certain benefits.
I've never understood why people try to discourage others getting the health and welfare LPA. Unless you pay someone hundreds of pounds to do it for you, the costs aren't prohibitive. You might never need it but if you do and haven't got it, you're stuck. Deputyship is only granted for financial affairs.
What price security and peace of mind? £110.
Agree wholeheartedly with this post.
My mum and I had discussed these matters over the years and her wishes were clear.
I just never got around to actually filling in the forms with her - it seemed (at the time) to be tempting fate and I felt it was all rather cold blooded.
Now I am having to object to the financial advocate, who has proved herself to be unprofessional and also a liar - trust me, I have proof after resuming contact with my youngest daughter.
I have told the COP that I am willing to accept an alternative advocate (anything rather than the current one) but that I am willing and able and my mum would want me to look after this for her - her current financial advocate has even admitted to my daughter that my mum told her that she didn't need any kind of an advocate as her family would look after her.
Same goes for welfare - do it now before it's too late.
My mum's recently been declared to have full mental capacity - even though my mum still regularly asks me where my dad is and why hasn't he picked her up yet (he died over 20 years ago)
Makes me wonder how all the other professionals got it wrong 18 months ago when they declared her lacking in capacity and put a DOLS in place.
Social worker is ignoring my questions (like how my mother has apparently recently told everyone but her family that she doesn't want us seeing any documentation from the care home relating to her care) and also my requests for meetings to be held transparently and openly (I've been deliberately excluded and so has my daughter)
I've asked if what they are doing is even legal - as at the best interests meeting in late 2013 it was decided that no IMCA was necessary as we her family were representing my mum.
Yet the social worker is trampling all over this and insisting that an IMCA is suddenly needed.
Yet another traumatic meeting/assessment for my mother who is ill and frail.
The social worker seems intent on excluding us - there's never been any suggestion of any kind of "abuse" from us at all.
Yet she's happy for the care home to keep my mum there - despite them having given notice twice and despite the fact that they've made it clear they are unwilling to communicate transparently, answer perfectly reasonable questions and actually tell us when my mum has had an accident at the care home
Funny but she never had any "accidents" in the months leading up to her going into the care home.
And all because I didn't feel "ready" to arrange the LPAs
So please do it quickly - you will then have peace of mind that third parties can't just waltz in and cause mayhem and worry - and harm to your loved ones.