Legal News | 28.10.21

Out with the old, in with the new: Enduring Powers of Attorney – are they still valid?

Many of us will have heard of Lasting Powers of Attorney (“LPAs”) and will be aware that they provide the perfect opportunity for people to appoint attorneys who will make decisions about their (a) property and financial affairs, and / or (b) health and welfare if they should they lose mental capacity. However, LPAs were introduced in October 2007 and before then it was only possible to make an Enduring Power of Attorney (“EPA”).

An EPA is very similar to a Property and Financial Affairs LPA in that a donor can appoint an attorney or attorneys to help with decisions regarding their finances. This could be anything from paying bills from the donor’s bank account to selling the donor’s property or investments.

While it is no longer possible to create a new EPA, if you have previously made one that was correctly signed and witnessed before 1 October 2007, the EPA can still be used.

The attorneys will need to register the EPA as soon as the donor starts to lose capacity. This is a slightly different process to registering LPAs, although the application is still sent to the Office of the Public Guardian. The attorneys must complete a main application form and send formal notices to the donor and at least three of the donor’s family members (who are over 18 and have mental capacity). There is a strict order of who must be notified and if one person in a certain category (e.g. children) is notified, then everyone else in that category must also be notified.

If you would like to register an existing EPA, or perhaps discuss the benefits of preparing LPAs, please get in touch with your usual Wansbroughs contact or email the Private Client team at wealth@wansbroughs.com.