The Mail’s story about Lasting Powers of Attorney featured a couple where the wife contracted early onset Alzheimer’s in her early fifties. She was soon incapable and had to move to a care home. Her husband had secured a lasting Power of Attorney and was able to manage her affairs relatively easily. Without an LPA, managing the affairs of a lone parent can be hugely demanding and frustrating. According to the Mail, 850,000 people in the UK suffer from dementia. Yet few of them have set up LPAs.
At a cost of a few hundred pounds, setting up LPAs is not expensive. They are best thought of as a kind of insurance – you should feel happy if you don’t ever have to claim.