Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) are documents that allow you to decide who can make important decisions for you if you lose mental capacity and aren’t able to make these decisions yourself.
EPAs are vital, because without them, your loved ones will need to apply to the courts for authorisation to make crucial decisions about your care and property on your behalf if you lose mental capacity. This process is costly and time consuming. Therefore, EPAs are highly recommended by legal professionals.
There are two types of EPAs:
Care and Welfare
This type of EPA allows your chosen person to make decisions about your medical care. This type of EPA only ever becomes activated when a doctor assesses you and provides a certificate confirming that you have lost mental capacity.
You can only appoint one trusted person to carry out this role, but you can elect another person as a backup (Successor) in case the first person is unable to act. You can also specify if you want your Attorney to consult with the named family members/persons about your care.
Property
A property EPA allows your trusted person(s) to make decisions about your property. For example, if you own a house, the person you have chosen to make your property decisions when you lose capacity can sell the house on your behalf.
If you choose it, a property EPA can be activated the moment you sign rather than upon your loss of capacity. This means that your chosen person can go to the bank for you if you need them to. This can be very helpful for people with mobility issues. Otherwise, your EPA will be activated upon your loss of capacity as certified by a doctor. Again, you can also specify if you want your Attorney to consult with the named family members/persons about your property matters.
Enduring powers of attorney only take effect while you are alive. Once you pass away, they become redundant.
If you are interested in having EPAs put in place, feel free to contact us. Our team is experienced in drawing up EPAs and will be happy to guide you through the process.
