Not many people think about the future. They plan the next holiday, write a shopping list for this week's groceries and wonder they might be going on Saturday night, but they don't really think beyond the next few days. There's nothing wrong with this and it's what most of us do. We're so busy getting on with today and tomorrow that planning years ahead just isn't high on the agenda. The problem is, it suddenly arrives - the future you thought you'd never have to worry about, and it can be an unpleasant shock for all concerned if all is not as rosy and wonderful as you thought it would be.
In my job I come across cases on a regular basis where happy and productive people who had everything going for them find that for some reason they just can't cope anymore. They are diagnosed with an illness such as Alzheimer's or Dementia, often with complications like incontinence, that means they can no longer cope with daily life and decisions in the way they always have. A chain of events then begins that will slowly unravel the life they thought they were going to have. The happy retirement, spending more time with the family, even finishing the career that has been worked on so hard for so long, it is all suddenly impossible as the person loses the ability to think and function for themselves. The person concerned then has to rely on help from family and healthcare workers, which requires time and commitment for all concerned. Ultimately, they person may need to go in to care.
All of this caring, both from family and professionals, needs money. Just doing the shopping for the person hits the family person, let alone thinking about how to cover the costs of residential care. It's something I've seen happen several times and the families are usually caught out in a nasty and ironic way. Money is needed to cope with the condition. The money is there, in the form of savings, the person's house, pension plans and investments, but no one can get at it as the person who is allowed to (the sufferer) is no longer capable of accessing it. So the families are put through the hardship of finding the money themselves, knowing the only time they will ever see the person's own money is if they inherit when the person eventually dies - which could be many years away.
This brings me back to my original point. We really should think about the future. Not just the rosy ideal we all want, but the unpleasant reality that will affect hundreds of thousands of us as we get older. We need to ask "how will my family and loved ones cope if I don't even know who I am anymore". I've recently learned about the solution, but it's a brave one as it means accepting that at some stage in the future you may not be responsible enough to take care of your own affairs. It's called a "Lasting Power of Attorney", and I recommend it anyone who is over 50.
It is a legal document that says, in the event that you are assessed by a doctor as being no longer capable of making your own decisions due to mental illness, someone you've appointed can take over your financial affairs. It is very carefully set up to make sure that the only time it comes in to effect is when you are clearly no longer capable of taking care of your affairs yourself. The critical factor is that when you complete the document, you have to be certified by a professional such as a doctor of solicitor as fully aware of the commitment you are making. In other words, you have not been pressured into the decision by anybody and that at that time you are fully capable of making such a decision.
Making the Lasting Power of Attorney is not a decision to be taken lightly, but if the worst does happen it can make all the difference to those who will be bearing the burden of looking after you. There are of course protections within the law to stop the ones you have given control of your affairs to from just abandoning you and running off with the money. They do have to demonstrate at all times that what they are doing is for your benefit, but it does mean they won't have to re-mortgage their own house and use their own savings to take care of you, and that will mean so much to the people who love you most and will want to take care of you.
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