In the age of Covid, should creating powers of attorney be part of our regular conversation with clients?

Alexander Caton Legal Director Charles Russell Speechlys 
Felicity Chapman Senior Associate Charles Russell Speechlys

The Covid-19 pandemic and its high death toll has highlighted the importance of ensuring a client has an up to date Will in place and prompted a surge in enquiries into Will preparation. However the importance of having registered up to date health and financial Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) in place and the potentially disastrous consequences of that not being the case has also been highlighted by the pandemic often with extremely unfortunate if not tragic consequences some of them well-publicised. While clients of all ages are often receptive to the concept of having a Will drawn up many view LPAs as something ‘for old people’: the Covid-19 pandemic has shown this to be far from the case. This article sets out what LPAs are their role the importance of them being up to date and the consequences of not having them and urges all practitioners to discuss LPAs with their clients.

Read the full article here.