Powers of Attorney
Powers of Attorney are used where you are unable to look after your affairs yourself either through choice or because of illness.
With Powers of Attorney you (the donor) appoint another person or persons (the attorney) and you grant them powers to make decisions you are not able to make for yourself. Such powers can be granted on a temporary or a permanent basis.
Temporary Powers
A Temporary Power might be used if, for example, you were going to be out of the country and felt your affairs could best be handled by a trusted friend. Two points are, however, important:
- The Attorney's decision-making powers are usually restricted to financial matters only. So they cannot make decisions relating to the medical treatment of the donor nor whether or not, for example, to turn off a life support machine.
- A Temporary Power ceases to be valid if the donor loses mental capacity. If this should happen, decisions on behalf of the donor will be made via the Court of Protection. Hassle, messy and time consuming.
Lasting Powers
There are 2 types which are (to use government wording) :
A. A Property and Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney.
B. A Personal Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney.
As regards A. above, you may (loosely) take this to mean all that is implied in Notes 1. and 2. under Temporary Powers of Attorney. Mainly financial but intended to be on a lasting basis.
And for B. above, you may take this to mean (again loosely) that a Personal Welfare Lasting Power can do all the things regarding health that cannot be done under a Property and Affairs Power.
Lasting Powers of Attorney will only be effective once they have been certified (by a Certificate Provider) and they will have to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before they can be used.
To a large extent both types of Lasting Powers of Attorney are 'new territory' because the legislation which brought them about became effective from 1st October 2007.
The Office of the Public Guardian provides much useful information on both Lasting Powers of Attorney and Enduring Powers of Attorney. For further information please click on the following link:
