We all hope to see out our time "with all our marbles", and indeed everything else, intact. No-one welcomes the prospect of?becoming incapable of managing their financial and other affairs. Should this happen however, having an LPA in place can significantly ease the situation. Of course, it's also an insurance policy, and?if you remain in good health your investment now could still lead to nothing.

In?an LPA, the so-called 'donor' formally states who (the 'attorney') should make decisions on their behalf,? subject to certain conditions, usually centred on future loss of mental capacity. There is a lot of flexibility within this to reflect personal circumstances and wishes.

Set-up can often be a DIY task, though once registered with the Office of the Public Guardian it becomes a legal document. Registering an LPA to cover property and financial affairs costs just ?110, with a reduced fee for people on a low income. A separate but similar mechanism covers decisions about health and welfare . For more complex situations, such as when a trust or overseas investments are involved, people often employ a solicitor.

Today we have two speakers helping you gain a better understanding of LPAs:

• Linnet Evans (Diversity) will give a personal account of both the predictable and the out-of-the-blue, the latter with expensive lifelong consequences. She will also outline how she worked with her family to draw up and register a DIY LPA.
• Deborah Clarke (Allied Services Trust) will give an introduction to AST, an independent not-for-profit organisation?offering a?third route to setting up and registering an LPA. Some of AST's first clients were in the armed forces awaiting deployment, hence the organisation's name. Deborah will fill in some more technical details and will be pleased to answer your questions about setting up and managing current and future LPAs.

This is a Parents & Carers network meeting with lunch provided by Diversity.

Please note that the start time is 15 minutes later than usual.

Allied Services Trust

ÍøÂç²ÊƱAPPÏÂÔØ_°Ä¿Í²ÊƱÍø-¹Ù·½ÓÎÏ·, guest speaker today is Deborah Clarke, CEO of?this not-for-profit organisation.

See Website and Facebook , and download the?leaflets (links on the left).

Note ...

To be put into use, an LPA must be registered with the OPG while the donor still has mental capacity. Donors are advised to do this once the forms are complete.

Lasting Power of Attorney replaced the earlier Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) in 2007. Correctly-completed EPAs can still be registered and used.

There are different processes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.