Living Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney

A Health and Care Lasting Power of Attorney enables you to appoint a person or persons you trust to make health and welfare decisions on your behalf if you lose capacity to make those decisions yourself. This Power also includes allowing those persons to consent or refuse life sustaining treatment on your behalf.

For various reasons, people sometimes do not wish to appoint a Health and Care Attorney and opt instead to make a Living Will. A Living Will is a document which sets out your wishes as to how you wish to be treated and cared for in certain situations. You should tell people that you have made a Living Will and it is a good idea to give a copy to your loved ones and those involved in your care so that they know what your wishes are. Your GP and medical team should also know about your advance decision so that they can include it in your medical notes. You can change a Living Will at any time, but you need to make sure that you clearly communicate, record and date these changes.

If you require any information with regard to making a Living Will or Lasting Power of Attorney, then please contact our Wills and Probate department on 01267 237441 (option 2).