We at Paul J Watson Solicitors understand that people worry about the future and the uncertainty that it brings and we hope to assist you in planning ahead, should you become ill or incapable of making decisions concerning your affairs.

Powers of Attorney are important tools which assist should the above circumstances arise. The Law in relation to Powers of Attorneys changed on 1st October 2007 and Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) can no longer be made or altered, although existing ones made prior to the change in the law are still valid and are capable of registration. You can revoke an existing Enduring Power of Attorney but you will not be able to create a new one.

The new form of Power of Attorney is the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA); this has now been divided into two separate documents. The Property and Financial Affairs which allows the donor to choose the people whom he/she wishes to make decisions on his/her behalf in relation to their property and monetary matters and the Health and Welfare LPA, which allows the donor to choose who will act in relation to his/her health i.e. medical needs, where they would live in the future etc.

The forms give the donor the opportunity to have one or more attorneys together with one or more replacement attorneys should your original attorneys become incapable of acting. The donor can also lists the number of people whom he/she would like to be notified when the document is eventually registered at the Office of the Public Guardian.

There is a major change to the new LPA; this is the requirement to have a Certificate Provider. A Certificate Provider is someone who is independent and who confirms that the donor understands the significance of the LPA. This person must have known the donor for two years or have the relevant professional skills; therefore the donor’s doctor or solicitor can be a Certificate Provider. If the donor has chosen to give notice of the registration on the LPA form, then only one Certificate Provider is required, however, if there are none, then two Certificate Providers will be required.

If you require a Power of Attorney in the short term, we can assist you with the preparation of a General Power of Attorney (GPA). This kind of Power of Attorney is valid for 12 months and would be beneficial if you live or work abroad or you are unable to make decisions due to unforeseen circumstances and you would like to appoint someone else to do so on your behalf whilst you are away.

The current fee for the registration of an existing EPA is £120 and for the LPA is also £120 for the registration of each LPA document. You can find further information on the Office of the Public Guardians website at http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/arrangements/arrangements.htm .

A GPA does not require registration.

Contact Paul J Watson Solicitor Middlesbrough for straightforward legal advice on Lasting Power of Attorney and General Power of Attorney.