Discretionary Trust as LPA Attorney

[chrisqpr]

My son suffers from Asperger’s syndrome and anxiety problems making him quite severely mentally incapacitated. I am in the process of instigating a Mencap discretionary trust and rewriting will. This will allocate a share of my estate to the trust and the letter of wishes will involve his brother in decisions affecting him.

However, a worrying scenario is what happens when or if my wife and I, who currently care and support him, become incapacitated. We both have EPAs, appointing his brother as out attorney. In this scenario, we are concerned that our incapacity and care for his brother places an unfair onus on him.

Is it possible to replace the EPAs with LPAs appointing both my son and Mencap discretionary trust as attorneys to act jointly?

[SarahL]

Hello @chrisqpr

Welcome to FamilyHub and thank you for posting.

There is a (long) post about Wills and Trust that you might find useful -

Wills and trusts - advice and support

Hi, my name is Katherine Miller and I’m a Solicitor with Renaissance Legal. We work extremely closely with the Mencap Wills and Trusts team and specialise in planning for the future for parents and carers of people with a learning disability. I am here to answer questions on: Wills and Trusts, including Discretionary and Disabled Person’s Trusts Powers of Attorney Court of Protection We understand that planning for the future can be difficult and will involve complicated decisions. This is …

I have also asked Katherine to have a look at your post.

Many thanks
Sarah

[frances_is_a_sibling]

Hi @chrisqpr This is a really good question and something that a lot of families worry about - you’re not alone. As well as @SarahL’s response above, I just wanted to say that I think it’s great that you’re talking to your (sibling) Son about this and involving him too. It’s a really tough topic, something no one wants to have to think about, and it’s really important just to discuss it. I’ve spoken to a lot of siblings who say 'I’m really glad that my parents sorted this - I so appreciate it".

Let us know how it goes and what you decide on

PS
Your sibling Son will not be alone with this after you are are no longer around. Many adult siblings are trustees, carers, advocates and friends for their brother or sister who has learning disabilities and/or autism and keep in touch with each other. Sibs is the UK charity for brothers and sisters of disabled children and adults. They have guides for adult siblings, support groups and provide 1:1 information and support. www.sibs.org.uk

[chrisqpr]

Hi @frances_is_a_sibling,
That is very helpful and positive. The information on Sibs is a revelation and I will follow up on it. However, as we live in Cornwall and our sibling son in Plymouth, there appears to be no support group closer than Bristol.

I will keep you informed on all progress.

[frances_is_a_sibling]

Glad it’s helpful @chrisqpr - so sorry there is no support group closer by. Keep us posted

[chrisqpr]

I have realised that my original question “Is it possible to replace the EPAs with LPAs appointing both my son and Mencap discretionary trust as attorneys to act jointly?” is incorrect. What I should have written is…

Is it possible for my son with Aspergers to register an LPA appointing both my other son and Mencap discretionary trust as attorneys to act jointly?

[chrisqpr]

Hi,
I have not yet received received response from Katherine

[SarahL]

Hello @chrisqpr

I have been in touch with our Wills and Trust Coordinator, Leanne, and she suggested this.

Hello @chrisqpr

Apologies for the delay in coming back to your post. Your son would need to have the capacity to appoint his own LPA and be 18 years of age or older. So this is possible if he understands what an LPA is and why he would appointing one. The Mencap Trust Company would not be able to act as an LPA because there would be a conflict of interest. Are there any other family members or someone else close to your son who you think might be a good fit?

If you could call our Wills and Trusts Helpline on 020 7696 6925 we may be able to help further.

Thanks, Leanne

Cheers
Sarah