Enduring Power of Attorney

Give someone the power to speak for you

Unfortunately, there may come a time in your life when you are unable to manage your own affairs.

This can happen as you get older through dementia for example, or it can happen suddenly at any age through illness or accident.

Enduring Power of Attorney is a way for you to appoint a friend, relative or a professional to act on your behalf if you are incapacitated in some way.

What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal document giving someone else the authority to take actions or make decisions on your behalf.

It enables you to choose a person or persons (called an Attorney) to deal with your property and finance.

To become effective, all Enduring Powers of Attorney need to be registered with the High Court (Office of Care and Protection in Northern Ireland). However the registration process is not required until the point where your Attorney believes you are no longer capable of managing your affairs.

Making an EPA now will make things easier for the people close to you in future. It will be more expensive, difficult and time-consuming for them to get permission to act on your behalf, if at all, when you are not able to give your consent.

How we can help

We can help you set up an Enduring Power of Attorney.

Before you do, you should give careful consideration to who you appoint as your Attorney, as well as the range of powers you wish to give them.

Attorneys are always required to act in the donor’s best interest and must always keep accounts of financial decisions and keep their own money separate from the donor’s.

How much control you hand over is up to you, so for example, you may wish them to handle your bank account but you might want to exclude them from the sale of any properties you might have.

It’s not a complicated process, but it does require thought in other ways, and that is where we can help.