8
|
MCA and the Office of the Public Guardian role |
Conditions and Restrictions
LPAs allow donors to outline specific conditions and restrictions for the attorneys to abide by.
Conditions (or preferences) are general wishes that the donor would like the attorneys to uphold if possible, for example:
- ‘I prefer to live within five miles of my sister.’
- ‘I would like my pets to live with me for as long as possible.’
Examples of Property and Financial Affairs conditions:
- ‘I would like to invest in ethical funds.’
- ‘I would like to donate £200 each year to an animal protection charity.’
Restrictions (or instructions) specify what attorneys must do when making, or supporting the donor to make, decisions, for example:
- ‘My attorneys must ensure I am only given Halal food.’
- ‘My attorneys must not decide that I should live in a care home unless my doctor believes that I can no longer live independently.’
Examples of Property and Financial Affairs restrictions:
- ‘My attorneys must not sell my home unless my doctor believes that I can no longer live independently.’
- ‘My attorneys must send my monthly bank statements to my brothers and sisters.’
Although conditions and restrictions should be respected by attorneys, if a condition (or preference) is not considered in the best interests of the donor, the attorney can ignore these without recourse to the courts. However, if the attorney does not believe a restriction (or instruction) is in the best interests of the donor, they must apply to the Court of Protection to have the restriction overruled.
-
0 Introduction
-
1 Reflecting on values and bias within mental capacity decision-making
-
2 The history and current context of mental capacity legislation and policy
-
3 The concept of mental capacity
-
4 Best interests
-
5 Supported decision making
-
6 Deprivation of liberty: human rights
-
7 MCA in clinical decisions for care and treatment
-
8 MCA and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) role
-
9 Conclusion