There are two documents that allow your family or freinds to manage your affairs should you develop a later life illness or struggle managing your own affairs. The first is called the Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare Affairs and the second is called the Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs. These documents allow you to appoint people (your attorneys) to handle your affairs for you when you no longer can. Without these in place, should something happen where you can no longer handle your affairs then it will already be too late to put these in place. Your family could face a long and drawn out process of applying to the Court of Protection for what’s known as a Deputyship, giving them the right to handle your affairs for you, but with fees reaching as high as £5000.