Free resources
What happens when someone else has to speak for you?
We know the people we love — but do we really know what matters most to them? These evidence-based quick reads explain why capturing the person behind the paperwork matters, and why it's worth doing before you need it. Each is grounded in law, national guidance or published research, with sources listed. Written by an HCPC-registered Occupational Therapist.
7 min read · 4 sources
What advance care planning is — and what the evidence says
A plain-English, evidence-based explanation of advance care planning: what it covers, what research shows about its effects, and where a Life Profile fits alongside legal documents.
Read guide8 min read · 3 sources
Mental capacity and best interests: how decisions get made for you
How the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and NICE guideline NG108 require decision-makers to consider your past wishes, beliefs and values — and why a written record makes that possible.
Read guide7 min read · 3 sources
Why personal information improves care — the evidence base
What research and NICE guidance show about person-centred care, life-story work and tools such as 'This is me' — and why a structured personal record changes how staff respond.
Read guide6 min read · 3 sources
Why an Occupational Therapist writes this, not a solicitor
How Occupational Therapy's occupational profile, activity analysis and functional assessment skills apply to future care planning — and what that adds to legal documents.
Read guide6 min read · 3 sources
When to start planning ahead (and why waiting costs you)
Evidence-informed guidance on the right time to record your wishes — after a diagnosis, before a hospital admission, or while you are entirely well — and what changes if you leave it.
Read guide
Do it before you need it.
The Future You® Life Profile is more than information — a picture of the person behind it. It complements, and does not replace, an LPA, advance decision, care plan or medical record.
These guides are general information for people in England and Wales. They are not legal advice and do not replace an individual assessment or a conversation with your own clinician or solicitor.