‘Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well,’ said Mark Twain in 1881 when, on average, men died at 50 and women reached 56. Nowadays, average life expectancy for men in the UK is 79 and for women it is 83, and one in every 14 people over 65 is likely to get dementia.
“Putting off making a power of attorney is not a good idea, as there might come a day when it is not possible,” explains Jack Haskew, a specialist private client solicitor at KWW in East Molesey.
“Illness could mean that one day you might be deemed to lack the required mental capacity to understand and agree to this important legal document. Once it is too late, your care is in the hands of other people.”
Jack explains how decisions about care and living arrangements are made when there is no health and welfare power of attorney in place.
When a decision over care might be needed
The need for an important decision about health and future care could arise if someone considers that a person is at risk. For example, if someone has had several falls, a doctor may be concerned the frequency of the falls or the severity of injury is increasing and may consider it is not safe for them to live alone.
Perhaps a health practitioner has noticed that someone is not coping well in terms of cooking or cleaning and has identified a health and hygiene risk.
In a hospital setting, the discharge co-ordinator may wish to be satisfied that a certain level of care is in place before they will let someone return home.
Applying to act as your deputy
Once you have lost mental capacity, your spouse or a close family member may apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your personal welfare deputy. This would give them the legal power to make decisions about your care, treatment and living arrangements on your behalf.
This is a costly exercise involving a £365 application fee, a £100 assessment fee for a new deputy and a £320 annual supervision fee. It can also be quite onerous, as the deputy will have to submit an annual deputy report about significant decisions made on your behalf. They will, for example, need to keep written records of important decisions they make about your care, including who they consulted with to make those decisions.
The legal right to make care decisions for you
Without a power of attorney or a deputyship order, your nearest relatives do not have an automatic or sole responsibility to make decisions on your behalf.
If you have not given someone authority to make decisions under a power of attorney, then decisions about your health, care and living arrangements will be made by your care professional, the doctor or social worker who is in charge of your treatment or care. They will make decisions based on what they consider to be your best interests.
Your close relatives should be consulted – after all, they will typically be the people who know you best – but the doctor does not have to follow their wishes. For example, the healthcare team may also have concerns about the health of your spouse if he or she is elderly and is your primary carer, or the suitability of your home if it is not possible to organise further adaptions.
Disagreement with healthcare professionals
If your loved ones profoundly disagree with the decision of the healthcare professionals, they could ask the court to make a final decision.
Disagreement among family members
If your family members cannot agree among themselves, then a social worker may get involved to organise a best interests meeting, where the pros and cons of each option would be evaluated.
When social services may be involved
A social worker’s role is to ensure vulnerable individuals are protected and well cared for if decisions around care and living arrangements need to be made. They often play a large part in the lives of patients with dementia and other mental health illnesses.
They can, for instance, appoint an independent mental capacity advocate (IMCA) to carry out a community care assessment and make decisions about moving someone if it is in their best interests.
However, social services budgets are under extreme financial pressure and there is regular coverage in the media of failings in the care system. It is worth considering whether you are happy to leave such important decisions to your local authority, or whether you would prefer to choose someone you trust.
Is it time to make your health and welfare power of attorney?
The best step you can take is to make a power of attorney as soon as possible. This will avoid the need for professionals to make such important decisions for you. Usually, your attorney would be a spouse or partner, adult child or close relative.
If you have no family or close friends, consider asking your solicitor to act as your attorney.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
