Lasting Power of Attorney

Surely that would be something to discuss with whoever is to be your attorney?
If you give them powers over your health then they should be consulted before your treatment.

hels said:

Yes, would obviously discuss with them but was thinking if specifics were written in the LPA it could support them for example if I was being cared for in a home or receiving care from 3rd parties.

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I'm not sure that's how the LPA works. You have given the power to your attorney.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to state very clearly how you want care for your T1 to be carried out but at the end of the day it would be in the hands of the attorney to make the decision. And the 3rd parties would also likely have to abide by whatever they were told by the medics assuming you are under their care too.

It's a bit of a minefield.

I hold LPA for an elderly friend and we often have discussions about what he would want in various circumstances so I can try and exercise his wishes.

bulkbiker said:

I'm not sure that's how the LPA works. You have given the power to your attorney.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to state very clearly how you want care for your T1 to be carried out but at the end of the day it would be in the hands of the attorney to make the decision. And the 3rd parties would also likely have to abide by whatever they were told by the medics assuming you are under their care too.

It's a bit of a minefield.

I hold LPA for an elderly friend and we often have discussions about what he would want in various circumstances so I can try and exercise his wishes.

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I am about to do mine as my daughter is in the legal businesd. She has started mine. If you have any specific questions please send to me.

Write everything down concerning your wants for your future health treatment, lodge a copy with your legal person, and make sure several other copies are held in different places by people you trust. As Jack Reacher says: Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

In an LPA you are giving the responsibility for making decisions for whatever aspect your LPA is to cover - health or financials.

As your attorney will be making your decisions, they need to know what you expect to happen, given so parameters. It isn’t helpful to be too specific because life rarely plays out out plans to the letter.

I know of one LPA document that expresses that Madazolam should never enter/the person’s life, or death, such is their feeling.

That’s an easy instruction, what would be trickier is if that statement were followed by, except in…….

It can take a long time to get the forms done, and everyone understanding the wishes, as when they sign to agree to be attorney, they sign to state the understand what is required of them.

In your shoes, if you have specifics you feel passionately about, it makes sense that your attorney and on their periphery understand your feelings so nobody tries derail your wishes and cause I’ll-feeling when there would already be a lot of stress and emotion circulating.

Good luck with it.

While it is possible to put in things you want, or do not want, your attorney to do and what treatment you would accept it is essential to get this exact - my mother prior to the Health LPA signed a document with a DNR, provided by her carers. Then it was suggested the document she'd signed meant she could not be admitted to hospital with pneumonia or receive any treatment to relieve the distressing symptoms.
The finance one often includes a statement about whether your home can be sold.
I did write one for mine, but checked it carefully with friends.

The key point for me was about food and drink - I do not want the staff to be able to leave me without fluids.

I would be very careful of including anything too specific on the LPA doc - just in case it causes hassle in the long run. Things never go to plan, and never work out how you anticipate.

We have just spent 3 years dealing with numerous situations where both the health and financial LPAs came in very useful.
At some points it felt like we were waving those legal documents around like flags. Doc, two hospitals, several clinics, bank, building soc, solicitor...

However, on every single occasion, all the various organisations wanted, was to have proof on file that we had POA. They made copies, and kept the copy electronically, ticked boxes on a computer screen, and recorded our names and addresses as primary contact/POA.

No one actually read the LPA doc for details, specific instructions, or caveats.

And thereafter, all we needed to say was 'I/we have POA. You have a copy on file naming me/us'. They would check the screen, see LPA had been ticked, confirm our names, and then treat us as POAs. Specific, detailed minutiae, whether financial or medical, would not have been noticed, and certainly not have been complied with by the organisation because they wouldn't read the document each time.

I think it would be up to the designated attorney to hop up and down and make sure they were heard, because once that doc was on file, no one ever read it again.

So my suggestion would be to get a general, standard format LPA, and then give your attorney the specific, detailed instructions that you want followed - and then trust the attorney to push those instructions onto the health/financial professionals - as needed.