Protecting your future for you and your family
Powers of Attorney are a group of documents that allow individuals or corporate bodies to nominate family members, loved ones or business associates to act on their behalf.
There are three types of Powers of Attorney:
• Lasting Powers of Attorney (which replaced Enduring Powers of Attorney in 2007)
• General Powers of Attorney
• Ordinary Powers of Attorney
The type of Power of Attorney which is right for you will depend on a range of factors.
How can we help you with Powers of Attorney?
We understand just how important it is to get the help and support you need quickly.
- Lasting Powers of Attorney
- Enduring Powers of Attorney
- General & Ordinary Powers of Attorney
- Changes To Your Power of Attorney
Lasting Powers of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to appoint a named person, or group of people, to make decisions on your behalf. An LPA usually comes into effect when the person who made it is no longer able to make their own decisions. The LPA will need to be prepared, signed and registered well in advance of this happening.
There are two types:
● Financial: This lets you choose someone to make decisions about money and property on your behalf. Often, this means help with things such as paying utility bills, collecting benefits, selling property and generally managing money.
● Health & Care: This lets you choose someone to make decisions about your daily routine and how you are looked after, medical care, moving into a care home and even decisions about life sustaining treatment.
You can choose to make either one or both types of Lasting Power of Attorney. We can talk your through all the options available and work with you to produce an LPA that’s exactly right for your circumstances.
A well drafted Lasting Power of Attorney can save you and your family an enormous amount of stress.
Have you been named as an attorney?
If you need support in your role as an attorney acting on behalf of a family member or friend, please get in touch. As specialist, experienced solicitors we can guide you through your responsibilities and help ensure you are keeping the records and accounts that are required by law.
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Enduring Powers of Attorney
Enduring Powers of Attorney were replaced in October 2007 by Lasting Powers of Attorney. In most cases, if you or a loved one made and signed an Enduring Power of Attorney before October 2007 it will still be valid.
We recommend you check the following:
● The date the Enduring Power of Attorney was made.
● Whether the people named in the Enduring Power of Attorney are still able to act for you.
We offer a free Enduring Powers of Attorney checking service to help you make sure your power of attorney is still valid.
Have you been appointed as an attorney in a Enduring Power of Attorney?
If you have been named as an attorney in an Enduring Power of Attorney and the person who made the document is, or is becoming, unable to manage their affairs, you will need to apply to the Office of the Public Guardian to register the document.
Our specialist solicitors can support you through this process and manage all the legal formalities on your behalf. We can also advise you on the requirements of your role as an attorney and help to ensure you are fulfilling all legal obligations.
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General & Ordinary Powers of Attorney
Ordinary and general powers of attorney work in a similar way to property and finance LPAs. They can be very helpful in situations where you want to be able to legally give someone else the power to manage financial or business affairs on your behalf.
Depending on the situation, you may wish to grant a whole range of responsibilities to a trusted family member, friend, associate or business, or you may want to grant just one or two. You can also choose the length of time the power of attorney will last for, whether that’s indefinitely or to cover a certain period, such as while you’re away travelling or receiving treatment in hospital.
These types of powers of attorney can be particularly helpful if you own a business, as they allow you to legally delegate business activities to an associate.
If you think you or your business may require an ordinary or general power of attorney, please get in touch. We will be able to help assess the situation, explain all the options that are available and create a legal solution that perfectly meets your requirements.
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Changes To Your Power of Attorney
When you write a Lasting Power of Attorney, you’ll need to name specific people to act as your attorneys. Should you become unable to manage your affairs in the future, these named individuals will have the legal power to make decisions on your behalf.
From time to time, circumstances might lead you to want to make changes to your LPA. This might be because you want to remove or add an attorney, or it might be because you wish to change the way in which your attorneys can make decisions.
The best course of action for these changes will depend on the situation. It may be that you can remove an attorney by making a legal document called a Deed of Partial Revocation, or you might need to revoke your existing LPA and make a new one.
Whatever the circumstances, our expert solicitors will be able to advise you on the options that are available to you.
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Get the legal advice you need
Dealing with legal issues can be confusing and stressful. If you’re not sure exactly how we can help you, or if you want to get specialist advice right away, please don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and get in touch.