There has been growing concern in the legal profession that people are not planning ahead or considering what would happen to them or their finances if they were unable to express their views due to an accident, medical emergency or cognitive impairment.
In response to these concerns, SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly) and an independent think tank, the Centre for Future Studies, conducted a study on health and welfare decisions.
The report established that the ever-increasing number of people living with dementia combined with the failure to plan ahead, exposes a looming incapacity crisis.
Our study found that 97% of people have not made the necessary provisions for themselves, should they lose mental capacity. A further 36% admit to having made no provisions at all for later life, including a will, pension, funeral plan or lasting power of attorney. It is extremely worrying that as a society, we are not planning for situations that will almost definitely affect us or our loved ones later down the line.
Our research also found that 73% of the population (over 51 million people) are worried about becoming mentally incapacitated and losing the ability to make decisions for themselves, but 79% have not spoken about, or even considered, personal medical, care and end of life decisions.