I attended the talk on the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) organised by CaregiverAsia. I have been procrastinating for a long time to get my LPA done and when this opportunity came up, I jumped on it. The talk also touched on the differences between a Will, an LPA, an Advance Care Plan (ACP) and an Advance Medical Directive (AMD). All of which serve a function different from each other, even if they might overlap.
Essentially, an LPA is a legal document that allows a person who is 21 years of age or older to plan the management of his/her affairs in the event of a loss of mental capacity. In the LPA, the person making the LPA appoints one or more persons to act and make decisions on his/her behalf. In Singapore, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) accepts applications for LPAs, and they seek to protect persons who are mentally incapacitated. This article shares seven things that you should know about an LPA.
I think this is important for everyone to do. We would want to make it easy for our loved ones should something happen to us. An LPA would help remove uncertainties and anxieties in how our finances would be managed and who to manage them should we be mentally incapacitated.
Remember, an LPA is not a Will. The former kicks in when we are still alive but mentally incapacitated while the latter is activated once we pass away. If you have not done or written any of them, it is advised that you do them together as you might want them to be consistent. We will be conducting more of such talks in the near future so please look out for them.
