You do not need to make a Power of Attorney at the same time as making a Will or if you already have a Will, but we would always recommend that you have both documents in place i.e. a Will and a Power of Attorney.
A Will takes care of your affairs after you have died. (To find out more about Wills, please click here.) However, compared to previous generations, we are now living healthier lifestyles and we have access to medicines and medical treatments and, as a result, we are generally living longer. This means that there is now a greater chance of a period of time before we die when we are unable to make a decision for ourselves, either as a result of a medical condition (e.g. dementia), an illness (e.g. Alzheimers) or a medical incident (e.g. a stroke). Therefore, we become reliant on other people to care for us and to make decisions for us. If this happens, then it is vital that there is a Power of Attorney in place to enable loved ones to make crucial decisions about our health and finances when we are unable to do so.
