Anyone who is aged 18 or older who has the mental ability to make decisions for themselves can arrange for someone else to make these decisions for them in the future. This legal authority is called 'power of attorney'. The person who is given power of attorney is known as the 'attorney' and must be over 18 years old. The person who is giving the power of attorney is known as the 'donor'. Appointing attorneys A donor can appoint just one attorney, or more than one attorney, to act as follows: • 'jointly' – they must always make decisions together • 'jointly and severally' – they have to make some decisions together and some individually • 'jointly' on some matters, and 'jointly and severally' on others For example, someone can appoint attorneys to act jointly when making decisions over their money, but state that only one attorney, acting independently (or severally), should decide where the person should live. ![]() This Guide has been designed to assist you with some of the general issues and to answer questions that you may have. This Guide is only intended to be a general overview of the law in relation to the registration and use of an Existing Enduing Power of Attorney. Legal advice should always be obtained from Leonard. ![]() ![]() ![]() The person has the right to say the attorneys must act jointly on all their affairs. If more than one attorney is appointed to deal with the same issue, they must act jointly unless the power of attorney states they do not need to. The attorneys must agree before they act on the issue. Types of power of attorney There are different types of power of attorney: Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) • personal welfare LPA • property and affairs LPA Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) An EPA deals only with property and affairs, which includes financial affairs and accessing the person's information. It is no longer possible to create an EPA as they were made under a previous law, the, before the came into effect in this area. An EPA made before October 1 2007 remains valid. Both EPAs and LPAs must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. LPAs can be registered at any time. Donors can register LPAs while they are able to make decisions for themselves. Alternatively, LPAs can be registered by attorneys at any time. However, personal welfare LPAs will only be effective once the person has lost the capacity to make their own decisions. EPAs made under the old law can only be registered if the donor is losing, or has lost, their mental capacity and must be registered by the attorney. You can, or you can contact the for an application pack: • by post at the Office of the Public Guardian, PO Box 16185, Birmingham, B2 2WH • by phone on 0300 456 0300 – lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and 10am to 5pm on Wednesdays For people who want to go online but have difficulty using IT for whatever reason, OPG provides assistance. Ask OPG for more information. Keep reading, or click on the links below to find out more about: • • • Applying for power of attorney As a donor, to give power of attorney you should understand exactly what powers you are giving to someone else. GOV.UK has information to help you for you and the person you appoint to make decisions for you. You can also. You can talk to a lawyer if you have problems answering any of the questions or if you want them to check what you have done. You can call the Office of the Public Guardian and the Court of Protection first to see if they can help on 0300 456 0300. Legal aid, in the form of advice and assistance, may be available for welfare LPA issues, but not for property LPA. The Law Society will be able to tell you which solicitors offer legal aid. You will be eligible for this legal aid only if you pass a means test. You can contact the Law Society by writing to them at 100-113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL, or by calling 020 7242 1222. You can also search for solicitors who specialise in this area on the.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2018
Categories |