Health and Welfare LPA - instructions and guidance

[Acorn]

I am a newcomer to Talking Point, so please excuse me if I'm doing things wrongly.

My wife and I are wanting to make Health and Welfare LPAs appointing each other as attorney. We want to make sure that the restrictions/conditions and guidance answers are as comprehensive as possible, both for what we each would like, and for what we each would not want. Some, like “do not resuscitate” are reasonably well known, and the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice (para 7.21) gives some general guidance, but we suspect there are other, maybe many other, specific forms of words that others have found useful. Is there anywhere a list of such possible conditions/restrictions and guidance (we realise that such a thing can never be completely comprehensive) that we could go through and think about following or rejecting?

 

[jenniferpa]

I really do not know the answer to your question but I wanted to post and welcome you to Talking Point and coincidentally, bump up your thread so that others might see it.

I think if you don't get many responses it's because most people simply do not write such specific instructions into their LPA. I hope they discuss them with their closest family members, they may also construct advance directives, but they do not put those instructions into their LPA.

I think this is because the LPA allows the attorney to make the same sort of decisions that the donor could make - I think there's a possibility that by including too many instructions you could actually make the LPA untenable.

You might want to look here to see what can happen when an LPA is unduly restrictive.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/protectin...ourt-of-protection/lasting-powers-of-attorney

I'm not sure any of those orders directly address the sort of issue you want to cover, but you can see what happens when people make what is essentially a fairly simple document, overly complex.

 

[nitram]

There is plenty of information available about what to include in an advance directive e.g.

http://www.compassionindying.org.uk/sites/default/files/Advance_Decision_Pack_0.pdf

http://www.lawdepot.co.uk/contracts..._living wills&s_kwcid=living wills|6195804263

I agree with jenniferpa that the LPA should be kept simple.I am not suggesting that the LPA includes this sort of detail but that the information is used as a framework for discussion to understand the donor's wishes

 

[Acorn]

Thank you for suggestions

Many thanks to both jenniferpa and nitram for their useful comments and welcome.
I had found the justice link, which was useful, although more in terms of what couldn’t be in an LPA rather than what might be.
I think you are right to discourage us from putting too much detail into our LPAs, particularly in our case where there is not likely to be any contestation of any decision either of us makes as an attorney. Nitram’s Dignity in Dying link looks particularly useful, and we will read it carefully. And, as you suggest, treat the issues raised as ones to think about for getting a clearer idea of what we each would wish. At this stage, we are not thinking of making an Advance Decision.
Again, thank you both for your help.

 

[oldfella]

Hi like jenniferpa I don't have the answer but when making one for my father and now for my wife I was told to make them as simple as possible and to talk things through with my attorney so that their wishes are clearly understood.

 

[NeverGiveUp]

We have a'plan b' in place, that is, appoint replacement attornies just in case something happens to you.

We have just done the LPA for the parents, have named replacements in case something happens to me. It is paid for in the fee, so not only do you not have to go through the process again, if time is of the essence, the replacement is there, you also don't have to pay again.

 

[Acorn]

Thanks to oldfella and NeverGiveUp.
We do intend to have fall-back attorneys - particularly ones who are younger than ourselves! But it is a useful point to talk through one’s wishes in case they conflict with the attorney’s principles. One of our fall-backs may have different views from us about the importance of prolonging life, but has told us that, where our views are clear, she would follow them rather than her principles.