Enduring Powers of Attorney

Prior to 1st October 2007, EPA’s allowed you to appoint chosen people (Attorney’s) to deal with your financial affairs.

EPA’s were replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) on 1st October 2007. EPA’s made before this date are still valid and can still be used.

You can start using an EPA once it has been duly signed, providing the creator of the EPA (the Donor) consents to its use and providing that there is no restriction in the EPA for it to only come in to use once the Donor loses mental capacity.

What is an Eduring Power of Attorney?

An EPA allows the chosen Attorney’s to help with the Donors finances such as, paying bills, paying in cheques, and dealing with the Donors benefits etc.

If the Donor starts losing mental capacity, then the EPA must be registered prior to use through the governing body which is the Office of the Public Guardian. There is a strict process that must be followed when registering an EPA and we are therefore here to help.

When acting under an EPA and making decisions on behalf of the Donor, an Attorney must always act in the Donor’s best interest and must always consult the Donor and try to involve them in the decision making process, even if the Donor has lost mental capacity.

When LPAs were introduced, a health LPA was also introduced whereby the Donor is able to appoint Attorney’s to deal with health and welfare decisions on the Donors behalf, but only when the Donor has lost mental capacity (unlike the financial EPA and LPA where the Attorneys can act even if the Donor still retains mental capacity).

To find out more about EPAs, make an enquiry here, or request a call back here.