Martin Lewis has urged people to act now over a legal service that is “more important than a will”. Money Saving Expert Mr Lewis has urged everyone to make sure they have sorted their Power of Attorney as we head beyond Christmas and New Year.
With 2025 continuing, Mr Lewis appeared on ITV This Morning to champion a legal service the financial guru says is “more important than a will”. BBC star Mr Lewis discussed the importance of a Power of Attorney – a way of giving someone you trust the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf if you’re no longer able to make them yourself.
Mr Lewis made the comments when he appeared on This Morning on Tuesday (7 January). The financial expert revealed he made a Power of Attorney when he was just 35 years old, and urged people no matter what age they are to take action.
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“I got my Power of Attorney at 35 – I don’t care how old you are. It’s not dementia – it’s strokes, it’s accidents which leave us unable to make financial decisions. You remember? If you have the Power of Attorney in place, it allows somebody to come in and take control of your finances if you are losing your faculties. If somebody starts and you don’t have one in place, you will have to apply at the Court of Protection which is long, arduous and costly.”
In reply, Norma Desmond, an MSE reader, said: “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.” 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).