“There is a scripture, and it is not the will, that when there is Alzheimer’s, it can avoid family conflicts”

Legal and property provision for the last part of our life is, in a way, taboo. It is not a tasteful dish think about your own death or in a situation of incapacity in which there is no capacity for rational decision-making. However, not doing so poses a serious problem for the family members around you. and they take care of you.

According what was published by Trendsthe most common thing in these cases is to think about the will, a document that establishes the last wishes of the people. However, notaries warn that, more and more often, it is necessary to opt for another legal figure that comes into play before death: preventive power, which allows a designated person to act on your behalf without having to embark on a legal process. disability judicial process.

A power designed for when you can no longer decide. The preventive power is a relatively unknown legal figure, but notaries claim it as a very effective tool to prevent families from having to initiate a judicial process of inability to manage the assets of a person who is no longer capable of doing so themselves due to a degenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s.

As the Alicante notary María Cristina Clemente said in a videothis notarial document is signed while the person is still in a position to decide, even in the first months after a diagnosis. It designates someone you trust (a child, your partner, a brother) to act on your behalf on the day you can no longer do it alone.

According to her, it is enough to have “that person by your side, who you know will accompany you until the end.” That person will be able to sell the home, manage the checking account or decide to enter a residence without asking permission from any judge.

The law that changed everything. This figure is not entirely new, but it gained legal force with the reform of the Law 8/2021which introduced some new features in the Civil Code to strengthen support for people with disabilities. “That father, that mother who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and the disease continues its course, and the time comes when it is no longer possible for him to continue at home because hospitalization is required in a residence and that generates a lot of expenses and the liquidity is not in the bank, it is in what was his habitual residence, and it has to be sold,” Clemente explained in his video.

In your article 256 It allows granting a power that remains valid even if the principal loses the ability to decide for himself. However, the article 257 It goes one step further: it allows a power that is only activated if this loss occurs, accredited with a medical report.

That is, incapacity is applied after medical expertise, but without initiating a long judicial process. Before this reform, a normal power was extinguished as soon as the holder lost his decision-making capacity, just when it was needed most. “That person is no longer in a position to come to the notary’s office. Therefore, this judicial ordeal begins,” lamented the Alicante notary.

Why avoid the court. Without this power, the only way left for the family is to ask a court to declare the person’s lack of capacity and appoint a guardian. It is a long process, with experts, hearings and months of waiting, while the bills for the treatment or care for the person do not stop arriving and the family cannot use the patient’s own resources to cover them.

With the preventive power signed, this judicial procedure is no longer necessary. The agent presents the notarial deed and acts in full representation of the person, being able to make decisions about their assets.

You do not need authorization from the court to sell the house or move the money. The difference with the will is clear: the will distributes what remains after death, while the power of attorney manages the life and assets of someone who is still alive but can no longer decide for themselves.

Notaries from different cities, the same advice. This recommendation does not come from a single voice, but rather several notaries who are in favor of this legal figure to support families in the care of their relatives affected by degenerative diseases. The notary Jesus Benavides Lima, of Barcelona, ​​emphasizes that the procedure is unilateral: it does not require the representative to be present or accept anything at that moment, and it can be revoked whenever desired. Its cost is between 25 and 50 euros, well below what a judicial process costs later.

From Madrid, the notary Fernando Gomá Lanzónpatron of the foundation There is a rightinsists on an important nuance: power gives very broad powers, so “it is essential to adequately reflect on who this right is granted.” The three notaries defend the same idea: better to decide calmly by assigning that power to the appropriate person, than to leave it in the hands of a court.

A problem that will get worse over the years. According to data from the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, more than one million people live with Alzheimer’s in Spain, and the figure could triple towards 2050 due to demographic aging. Each of these families may end up facing, sooner or later, the same dilemma of a home that cannot be sold or care expenses that cannot be charged to the affected person’s checking account.

Signing a preventive power of attorney costs little time and little money. And as Clemente reminds, it can be granted even in the first stages of diagnosiswhen the person still decides with total freedom who will take care of them tomorrow. “That person will not need to go to court to obtain any judicial authorization. They will be in charge of doing everything they deem best for your care,” Clemente said.

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Image | Unsplash (Jem Sahagun)