Martin Lewis issued a message to viewers of his ITV Money Show Live on Tuesday as he urged people to make a one-off payment of £82.
The Money Saving Expert founder has warned UK households over the importance of a Lasting Power of Attorney, Birmingham Live reports. Mr Lewis told those watching: "One person in the UK develops dementia every three minutes yet relatives can't just walk into a bank and access your money, even if it is to pay for your care.
"Unless you have a Power of Attorney, loved ones would need to apply through court, which can be long and costly."
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It costs £82 to register a Power of Attorney in England and Wales, while it's £85 in Scotland, and £151 in Northern Ireland. If you earn less than £12,000 per year though, you can provide evidence to pay a reduced fee of £41, and those on certain benefits are exempt from fees.
One viewer wrote in to the show to share her experience. The woman 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."
Mr Lewis explained: "I think in many ways, a Power of Attorney is more important than a will, because if you die, you die and the money is going to go on to other people and you won't use it anymore. I've had a Power of Attorney since my thirties. I have, thankfully, no foreseeability of losing my faculties.
"No one takes control of my finances, I'm in control of it, but I have a Power of Attorney to do that."
He continued: "The best way, if you can, is to get a solicitor to do it, but that will cost £200 to £500, so you have to make that decision. There's partial help from Which? - what that means is, you fill in a template online and then they get a specialist to check it for you rather than having it fully drafted by a solicitor.
"I need to say, Power of Attorneys are not perfect. There are delays at the moment, but my big message it is better to have a Power of Attorney than not. I'm not promising it's a panacea, but it's better than nothing. Now, of course, I talk about financial power of attorneys, because this is what I do.
"But there's also a separate health and welfare one, and exactly how it works varies across the UK, where you give somebody the ability to control your health and welfare decisions, if you lose your faculties too. And I would urge you to look at that one as well. It is important."
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