Lasting Powers Of Attorney

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) came into operation on 1st

October 2007, superceding Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA)

although EPAs signed prior to that date remain legally valid.

There are a number of significant differences between EPAs and

LPAs as follows:

There are two types of LPA, one for property and financial

affairs and one for personal health and welfare. It is possible to

sign either or both of these depending on what sort of authority

you wish to give others in respect of your concerns.

An EPA came into operation as soon as it was signed (unless a

condition were inserted in the document to say otherwise). It had

to be registered with the Court of Protection only if the person

who granted the Power subsequently lost their mental

capacity.

An LPA has to be registered with the Court before it can be used

at all, whether or not the person who has granted the Power is

mentally capable.

An EPA was a relatively simple document just four pages long

whereas an LPA is twenty four pages long, contains many traps for

the unwary in terms of its completion and requires a Certificate to

be provided by a responsible person to confirm that the person

granting the Power is both able and willing to do so.

After two years of teething problems with these forms, the good

news is that the Office of the Public Guardian has now listened to

representations from Solicitors for the Elderly, the Society of

Trust & Estate Practitioners and the Probate Section of The Law

Society (of all of which Goodman Derrick partners are members) and

more user-friendly forms are to be issued in time for the second

birthday of the...