Best Probate Solicitors in Leicester

PART 3 - Back to Basics – Health and Welfare LPA Registering your LPA with the OPG can take up to 20 weeks or possibly longer, depending on the volume of applications they receive, so it is important you register your LPA as soon as possible. What happens if you don’t have a Health and Welfare LPA? There is a common misconception that a Health and Welfare LPA is only needed for those who are of an older age. The reality is that capacity could be lost at any time due to a serious accident, stroke or even a degenerative condition such as Alzheimer’s. If you should lose capacity and there is no Health and Welfare LPA in place, your family and friends will not have automatic authority to make decisions on your behalf with regard to your health and welfare. Instead, others could make decisions for you, and the decisions made may not be what you would have wanted, i.e. social services decide where you live and what care you receive, or you may be resuscitated against your wishes. This can cause disagreements between family members and professionals about what is best for you. Having an LPA in place prevents those disagreements whilst ensuring loved ones who are best placed to look after you if you lose capacity are legally able to do so.