Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA)
If you completed an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) and all parties signed the form before 31st October 2007 then it remains valid providing that you retain your mental capacity.
If the persons mental capacity is failing, for the EPA to continue to work you must register it at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). The registration process has a number of safeguards, including the OPG writing to other interested parties to confirm that the registration is appropriate. These will be people that are nominated by your attorneys and are normally close family members. If they object the registration will be reviewed. As of April 2009 the fee for registration is £120.
Before an EPA is registered you can make decisions yourself, or your attorneys can make decisions on your behalf. Once your EPA is registered your signature effectively loses any legal validity and you cannot enter into legally binding contracts or cancel the EPA. After this, only your attorneys can make decisions for you.
An EPA is a powerful document and gives your attorneys significant powers over your financial affairs. They can buy and sell things on your behalf, including property. They can open bank and building society accounts and buy or sell your investments.
Your EPA cannot change your will, make substantial gifts on your behalf or enter into a trust. Your attorney would need to apply to the court of protection for these items and this would usually only be accepted if the EPA was registered and a clear benefit to you could be demonstrated.
1 responses to 'Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA)'
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Nathaniel
Added 11-Jul-2011 20:50
This looks like another case of the government attempting to make these things look better than they are.