A Power of Attorney form is a legal document whereby a person gives another person or persons the power to take decisions with regard to their financial affairs and/or their health and personal welfare.
There are two main types: General or Ordinary, for temporary use whilst the Donor is unavailable. The other: Lasting, Enduring or Continuing for use when the Donor has lost capacity (through ill health) to manage their own affairs. In each case there are different documents and procedures for all UK: England and Wales, and for Scotland.
A Power of Attorney is a legal document whereby a person gives another person(s) written authorisation to make decisions on their behalf with regard to their financial affairs, their health and personal welfare or some other legal matter. The people to whom the written authorisation or 'powers' are granted are called 'Attorneys'.
There are essentially two types of Power of Attorney:
(1) Temporary – those which are created for a set period of time or for a specific purpose and end either at a specified time or upon the request of the person granting it. These are called Ordinary or General Powers of Attorney and they automatically come to an end if you lose mental capacity. If you have a physical illness or an accident resulting in physical injury or you are going abroad and you want someone else to look after your affairs, you should create an Ordinary/General Power of Attorney.
(2) Permanent - those which allow someone else to manage your legal, financial and health affairs should you lose capacity in the future. If you have been diagnosed as having, or if you think that you may develop, a mental illness, for example, severe schizophrenia, or a degenerative brain disease leading to mental incapacity, for example, Alzheimer's disease, and you want someone else to manage your financial affairs and/or your health and welfare either now or in the future, you should use a Lasting Power of Attorney form (in England and Wales) or a Continuing or Welfare Power of Attorney (in Scotland). This can include paying bills, collecting pensions and other money due to you or dealing with bank or building society accounts, subject to any restrictions or conditions you might want to include. It can only be used once it has been registered at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).
Unlike an Ordinary or General Power of Attorney, a Lasting/Continuing/Welfare Power of Attorney can come into effect or continue in force after you lose mental capacity. It will come into effect immediately if you do not specify in it that it should not take effect until you lose mental capacity.
The Power of Attorney packages below contain all the forms and guidance material that you need in order to make and then apply to register a Lasting/Continuing/Welfare Power of Attorney. There is one group of Power of Attorney documents for the jurisdiction of England and Wales, and one group for the jurisdiction of Scotland.
The standard Power of Attorney forms (instruments) are easy to complete. When choosing an Attorney to act for you it is important that you are confident that they know what you want and that you are comfortable that they will be making decisions on your behalf.
The document must incorporate a certificate signed by an independent person (such as a solicitor or your GP) confirming that you understand the significance of your Power Of Attorney. They also need to certify that no undue pressure or fraud is involved in the making of the Lasting/Continuing/Welfare Power of Attorney.
Once the Power of Attorney template has been completed it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian as soon as possible after it has been made so that it is ready to be used by your Attorney(s) when needed.
In England and Wales the person giving another person the power to act on their behalf is called the "Donor".
An Ordinary Power of Attorney is usually created for a set period of time in cases where the Donor is going abroad or is unable to act for some other reason and wishes someone else to have the authority to act on his or her behalf. The authority granted can be general or limited to specific affairs. An Ordinary Power of Attorney agreement will usually end either at a specified time or upon the request of the Donor at any time using a Deed of Revocation and will automatically be revoked if the Donor loses mental capacity. There is no requirement for an Ordinary Power of Attorney to be registered.
The Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) was introduced by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 from 1 October 2007, when it replaced the Enduring Power of Attorney. They allow individuals to appoint Attorneys to look after their property and financial affairs (LPA - Property & Affairs) and also to make health and personal welfare decisions (LPA - Health & Welfare) when they lack the capacity to make these decisions themselves in the future. The Attorney(s) can only use the LPA after it has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.
A Deed of Revocation is used to cancel or "revoke" a Power of Attorney.
In Scotland the person giving another person the power to act on their behalf is called the "Granter".
A General Power of Attorney is usually created for a set period of time in cases where the Granter is going abroad or is unable to act for some other reason and wishes someone else to have the authority to act on his or her behalf. The authority granted can be general or limited to specific affairs. A General Power of Attorney will usually end either at a specified time or upon the request of the Granter at any time using a Deed of Revocation and will automatically be revoked if the Donor loses mental capacity. There is no requirement for a General Power of Attorney to be registered.
A Continuing Power of Attorney allows the Granter to appoint a legally authorised person to look after their property and financial affairs should they become incapable of doing so themselves at some point in the future. It remains valid after the Granter has become mentally incapable and must be registered to be effective. A Continuing Power of Attorney may be revoked using a Deed of Revocation at any time, either before or after registration, while the Granter still has mental capacity or in the event they regain it.
A Welfare Power of Attorney allows a Granter to appoint Attorneys to make decisions about the health and welfare of the Donor in the event of mental incapacity. It may be revoked using a Deed of Revocation at any time, either before or after registration, while the Granter still has mental capacity or in the event they regain it. Can be combined into a Continuing and Welfare Power of Attorney.
A Deed of Revocation is used to cancel or "revoke" a Power of Attorney.
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