Martin Lewis was answering a This Morning viewer’s question about the power of attourney (Image: ITV)
Martin Lewis, the personal finance expert, has urged everyone to prioritise one crucial document in 2025. Speaking on This Morning, Mr Lewis revealed that he had arranged this for himself at the age of 35, and stressed its importance over a will.
The founder of Money Saving Expert warned that families could face a nightmare scenario if a loved one suffers a serious injury or health condition without having this document in place. He stated: “I got my power of attorney at 35. I don’t care how old you are, it’s not just about dementia, it’s strokes and it’s accidents, severe strokes, I should say, and it’s accidents and other things that stop us being able to look after both our financial and our health decisions.
“The power of attorney is arguably more important than a will. We’ve talked on the show before about power of attorney. If you have the power of attorney in place, it allows someone to take control of your finances when they lose their faculties, if and when they lose their faculties.
“If someone starts to lose their faculties and they don’t have one in place, then you’re going to have to apply at the court of protection, which is long, arduous and costly.”
A viewer named James had asked about his mother’s condition and what steps he should take at this stage of her illness. A sympathetic Mr Lewis responded: “I’m sorry James, I can’t tell whether your mother is still in the stage where, where she would be able to sign over power of attorney now, where she still has her enough fac.
The difficulties of managing a loved one’s affairs when they are no longer able to do so themselves were highlighted by a financial expert. He advised, “If she can, you want to do that quickly and it’s gonna have to be legitimate that she’s in a position to do it, you’ll want to get a power of attorney set up really quickly.”
He warned that if it’s too late for the individual to make that decision, then the court of protection would need to step in.
However, he cautioned, “If it’s beyond the point where she is no longer capable of making the decision to do that, then it will be the court of protection. And being blunt, it will be expensive and timely and difficult, and I’m sorry, which is why if you’re watching, I got my power of attorney at 35, right? I don’t care how old you are, it’s not just about dementia, it’s strokes and it’s accidents, severe strokes, I should say, and it’s accidents and other things.”
In response, an MSE reader named Norma Desmond shared her personal experience: “My mum is deputy (via the Court of Protection) to my dad, who has advanced dementia. It’s a very long, drawn out and quite intrusive process. It’s also expensive. mum will have to pay hefty yearly fees too. I just wish we’d managed to get Power of Attorney instead, when dad was more capable. He got ill very fast and we couldn’t implement it.”
She also pointed out that there’s a compulsory cost of £82 to register a Power of Attorney (in England and Wales – it’s £96 in Scotland, £165 in Northern Ireland).