Professional Attorney or Deputy

What is a Professional Attorney or Court Appointed Deputy?

A professional attorney is a registered practitioner, such as a solicitor, social worker, occupational therapist or registered nurse. There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA): Health and Welfare and Property and Financial Affairs. Solicitors are often asked to act as attorneys for matters of property and financial affairs, as this sits within the scope of expertise. However, when it comes to health and welfare matters, the role of an attorney for health and welfare does not usually sit within the skillset, knowledge or expertise of a solicitor. That's where Nova Care's Consultants for Life can assist. We are experts in health and care, and can be called upon to assist later in life. Our Care Consultants for Life are drawn from the nursing, social work or occupational therapy modalities. We always provide at least two attorneys under this service, a nurse or OT will usually lead for health matters, and our social work experts will lead welfare matters. At Nova Care, we take this a step further and require all professional attorneys to be qualified for more than 10 years, and to have undertaken an advanced or postgraduate qualification in healthcare before being approved as a professional attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What Is A Care Consultant For Life?

It's a fact that we are living longer and have more medical and care needs later in life. The NHS and Social Services are there when things become critical, but the criteria increase year on year, and sometimes people can not wait. A Care Consultant for Life is just that, we act for you during your lifetime.

You would select us to become your Professional Attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney, and we will agree to act for life. Our Care Consultants can support you later in life, looking after your health, welfare and safety. We do this with care, compassion and a commitment to help you. We'll make care and health decisions when you can't act for yourself.

Before we act, we'll get to know you over several meetings and build a detailed profile of your life, wishes, opinions, values and views. We keep this secure on our care system called Log My Care. You can even have access to this record and we'll work together to make sure your needs, wishes and views are always accurate. When the time comes, we'll step into your shoes when a decision has to be made, and we'll do that with respect and the utmost level of dignity.

What Is The Difference Between A Nova Care Consultant And An Independent Care Advisor?

At Nova Care, we only provide qualified, registered and regulated health and care professionals. An Independent Care Advisor is an unregulated practitioner, and anyone can become an Independent Care Advisor with no formal training.

Why Would I Need A Care Consultant For Life?

There are several reasons why people decide to select and appoint a health and care professional as their attorney. Some of the most common reasons may include:

• they may be living alone without any close connections or anyone who can support them later in life;

• they may not have any children or close family members able and willing to act;

• family members might live overseas or be estranged;

• family members might have their own health needs

• they may not feel confident that their family will carry out their wishes, either through misunderstanding or because their family have opposing views; or

• they may not wish to place the burden upon their family.

Is This A Regulated Area?

Absolutely. As professional attorneys, we must follow very clear guidelines and a Code of Practice. Our work is subject to a higher standard as set out in the Mental Capacity Code of Practice (2007) and is subject to the watchful eye of the Office of the Public Guardian and the Court of Protection. We keep ourselves up to date with changes in law and practice, some of our consultants are even academics working in this area and teaching or researching this area of practice. We work closely with legal professionals in this field, including judges across the Court of Protection and Mental Health Tribunal Service.

Why might I want to appoint a professional attorney over a lay attorney?
There are several reasons why you might decide to appoint a professional attorney. You may wish to have someone who has the necessary skills and knowledge, or you may wish to ease the burden on a friend or family member, or in some cases, you may not have any friends or family. We can also act as replacement attorneys, and this provides a backup for your attorney if they can not act.

What are the skills, knowledge and experience of a Nova Care Consultants for Life?
Attorneys have to make very complex decisions about another person’s health and welfare matters, often these are required quickly, and decisions can have a lasting impact. We understand the importance of getting the decision right, so our team has extensive experience making best interest decisions. Many of our consultants have managed best interest meetings and have even presented or been called upon to give expert evidence in court. Professional attorneys can call upon extensive knowledge and experience to deal with these matters as effectively as possible.

How Much Is A Care Consultant For Life?

We can become your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for £30 a month while you live an active and happy life. This acts as a dormant retainer fee, and you will have a yearly review by your named Care Consultant for Life, or up to 3 hours of our time over a year, whichever is used up first. When we step up and your LPA is active, and we become more involved in your care, our monthly fee increases to £75 per month. You still receive an annual review and up to 8 hours of support a year. Any work we provide over 8 hours is charged at our hourly rate. You'll need to have someone who is managing your finances through another Lasting Power of Attorney, and we do not provide this service. However, many people opt to have a solicitor who manages their money later in life. We have worked with several law firms and specialist Later Life Consultant Solicitors under this arrangement and will happily guide you in this area.

Will My Consultant Change?

No, this is a promise we make to you that statutory service can never offer this level of continuity. Because we act as individual professionals (not via corporate appointment), you will always have the same Care Consultant for life. You will always have two consultants from Nova Care.

How Do You Know How To Make Decisions For Me When I Can't?

We do this by:

• Supporting you through every step, even when you can't make the decision yourself

• Listening to your needs, views, opinions and even worries and concerns

• Maintain a detailed Care Needs and Wellbeing Plan

• Ensuring your wishes are respected

Can I Appoint A Mixture of Professional And Lay Attorneys?

Yes, we're happy to support a LPA where we are willing to act alongside Lay Attorneys. It is usually recommended that you appoint either more than one attorney or one attorney and one replacement attorney. With this in mind, you may decide to appoint a professional attorney alongside a family member or friend, or we could act as a replacement attorney. Of course, if you choose not to appoint a professional Attorney in your LPA, your family members or friends will still be able to seek health and care advice from a specialist, and we offer this service to lay attorneys.

Do you have any questions?