Martin Lewis, the money-saving guru, has delivered an important message to viewers on This Morning, emphasising the urgent need to arrange a specific document ahead of time.
Mr. Lewis, who sorted his own affairs out at 35, pressed on the significance this holds even over writing a will.
The Money Saving Expert founder alerted families that without such arrangements, they could be plunged into distress should a relative be incapacitated. He advised: “I got my power of attorney at 35. I don’t care how old you are, it’s not just about dementia, it’s strokes and it’s accidents, severe strokes, I should say, and it’s accidents and other things that stop us being able to look after both our financial and our health decisions.
“The power of attorney is arguably more important than a will. We’ve talked on the show before about power of attorney. If you have the power of attorney in place, it allows someone to take control of your finances when they lose their faculties, if and when they lose their faculties.
“If someone starts to lose their faculties and they don’t have one in place, then you’re going to have to apply at the court of protection, which is long, arduous and costly.”
A viewer named James had asked about his mother’s condition and what steps he should take at this stage of her illness. He advised, “If she can, you want to do that quickly and it’s gonna have to be legitimate that she’s in a position to do it, you’ll want to get a power of attorney set up really quickly.
“He warned that if it’s too late for the individual to make that decision, then the court of protection would need to step in.”
However, he cautioned: “If it’s beyond the point where she is no longer capable of making the decision to do that, then it will be the court of protection. And being blunt, it will be expensive and timely and difficult.”
Sharing her personal experience, MSE reader Norma Desmond wrote: “My mum is deputy (via the Court of Protection) to my dad, who has advanced dementia. It’s a very long, drawn out and quite intrusive process. It’s also expensive. Mum will have to pay hefty yearly fees too. I just wish we’d managed to get Power of Attorney instead, when dad was more capable. He got ill very fast and we couldn’t implement it.
“In addition, she noted the obligatory £82 registration fee for Power of Attorney (in England and Wales – it’s £96 in Scotland, £165 in Northern Ireland).
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