The Advice Team at local disability charity, Diverse Abilities, is encouraging the Dorset community to create a lasting power of attorney (LPA) to make difficult situations easier for friends or family in the future.
An LPA is a safety net. It is a legal document that ensures that a person or a group of people can manage and make decisions about someone’s finances, property and care needs.
Elaine Ewing, Advice Team manager at Diverse Abilities, said: “It is a sad fact that any one of us could have an accident or suffer an illness at any time, leaving us with mental health or physical difficulties as a result. With 1 in 65 people being diagnosed with dementia, we need to think about how we would manage our lives if something happened to us.
“Most people assume that their family would be able to manage their finances and manage their care needs if they could not do it for themselves, but without a lasting power of attorney in place, this is not possible.”
If you are ready to start thinking about your future, or of a loved one, the Diverse Abilities Advice Team can help you to decide whether an LPA is right for you, and if so, make the applications for you and oversee the registration of the relevant documents.
A previous client of the Advice Team said: “I am very grateful to Diverse Abilities for their help in drawing up a Lasting Power of Attorney for my parents. I had not realised that a solicitor is not always required, and Diverse Abilities helped explain and arrange necessary documentation in a professional and sensitive manner.”
Working with the Diverse Abilities Advice Team will also save some money. The service charges an affordable fee, which is substantially lower cost than most solicitors and will not be making a profit. In addition, during December and January, you can also receive 20 per cent off the cost by quoting LPAOFFER.
For more information, visit www.diverseabilities.org.uk/advice or call the friendly team on 0300 330 5514.