That's Life

You worked hard all your life and have got to retirement with a reasonable home and nest egg but have no one to care and share it with you? You may have a social circle but no one close, no one you could trust implicitly.

When alone in retirement certain aspects of your potential future can cause concern, especially if no close or any family. You may be married now however one day your partner or you will be gone.

We all need to make a Will to ensure that our beneficiaries, receive from our estate the bequest we choose to leave behind. Having looked after yourself in life you are now looking after the welfare of others in death by making a Will but what if you should be one of the thousands who suffer from a Dementia related illness and cease to be able to care for yourself? A visit to www.alzheimers.org.uk will show just how many people suffer from this illness and how the numbers are age related.

Those of us who have a family would normally rely on our spouse then children to look after our financial and care needs in this event. This can be planned for using an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), a legal document that gives the nominated person the right to take control of your affairs and act in your best interest. To make the decisions on your behalf to ensure your requirements and comforts are met during the latter stage of your lifetime.

EPAs are not a new idea and have been around along time. An EPA only comes into force should a person no longer be capable of making their own decisions. They need to be registered with the Public Guardianship Office, which is part of the Court of Protection. They have the power to investigate any registered EPA and how the attorney has completed the affairs to date.

The nominated Attorney can be changed in the future provided the EPA has not been registered. You can have more than one person named as attorney and you can place restrictions on their powers, as you wish.

The EPA gives the nominated attorney the ability to use the assets of the person to fund care and meet any other financial requirements or obligations as necessary. This is a powerful document and is normally entrusted to family members only however, what if you have no family to care about your welfare in the future.

Many people have no one to rely on to look after their best interests should they befall dementia and are then left to the state to act. Others may have a child born late in life that will need continued support throughout their lifetime or do not want their children involved in their future care for whatever the reason.

Recognition of the numbers of people with no one to act on their behalf and having experienced Dementia within my own family, Nationwide Care was born. To see more on this subject visit www.ncare.org.uk

Whatever your situation, an EPA should be considered as important as a Will. We all know of someone who has suffered from Dementia however “it will never happen to me”?