|
The Law Society has issued a Practice Note which is a useful reminder of the basics of dealing with a bank when acting under a Power of Attorney. As far as Enduring Powers of Attorney are concerned, is no longer possible to create a new EPA. But, EPAs executed before 1 October 2007 are valid, irrespective of whether or not they had been registered.
Lasting Powers of Attorney were introduced by MCA 2009 and fall into two categories: Health and Personal Welfare LPAs, and Property and Financial Affairs LPAs. It is only Property and Financial Affairs LPAs that authorise you to deal with bank accounts, finances and business matters. Note that an LPA must be registered before you can use it to access a bank account (registered LPAs have the mark of the Office of the Public Guardian on each page of the original document). So, two examples from the Practice Note: Illustration 1: W has been diagnosed with early symptoms of dementia and has made a valid EPA naming H as attorney. At the moment she retains full mental capacity to make decisions. The EPA can be used by H, even though it has not been registered, to make decisions for W such as opening a bank account and managing her finances. But, the EPA will have to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian if W starts to lose capacity. Illustration 2: H has been diagnosed with early symptoms of dementia but currently retains mental capacity to make decisions. He has a made a Property and Financial Affairs LPA to allow W to manage his finances. The LPA cannot be used by W to manage any of H’s property or affairs (including opening a bank account) until the LPA has been registered. But note that the LPA can be registered at any time – even when H has full mental capacity. Source: The Law Society (www.lawsociety.org.uk).
|
