| A Power of Attorney
gives authority to someone else such as a close relative /
friend or your solicitor to act for you and sign documents
on your behalf either generally or for a specific purpose.
Thus there are various different types of Power of Attorney:
• General Powers of Attorney
give your Attorney a wide range of authority for example to
deal with your bank accounts or to purchase or sell property
on your behalf.
• Specific Powers of Attorney
give your Attorney the authority to transact particular business
on your behalf and are limited in nature for example you are
moving abroad and need to appoint an attorney to finalise
the sale of your property.
The authority granted by a Power of Attorney becomes invalid
when the Donor revokes the power or when they become of unsound
mind. The Donor can revoke the power at anytime and the Power
of Attorney may even state for how long the attorney has the
power to act.
If the Power of Attorney is to be used abroad, it may need
to be notarised.
|
Lasting
Powers of Attorney (LPA’ s):
The Lasting Power of Attorney
allows the Attorney to act and sign documents for the Donor
even if the Donor becomes of unsound mind. However, the Attorney
must register the Power of Attorney with the Office of the
Public Guardian in London before it can become operative.
The fee for registering a Lasting Power of Attorney
is subject to current government legislation. A search of the Register can be made to
ascertain if a Lasting Power of Attorney has been registered
in respect of a particular Donor.
There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney:
• A Property Lasting Power
of Attorney – whereby the Donor authorises the
Attorney to deal with matters such as buying and selling property,
paying the Donor’s mortgage, rent or care fees, opening,
closing and operating bank and building society accounts etc.
• A Welfare Lasting Power
of Attorney – whereby the Donor authorises the
Attorney to make significant decisions about the Donor’s
personal care, e.g. whether they should reside in a residential
home, their day to day care, dealing with their personal correspondence
and having access to personal information about the Donor.
This is a short summary of some of the issues relating
to Powers of Attorney and Sarah
Matkin will be pleased to assist and give
further detailed information regarding the making of a Power
of Attorney, the cost, registration procedures and the way
in which they operate. Please do not hesitate to contact Sarah
either for an appointment or for further information. |
.gif){kind=spacer}
