Assign your Power of Attorney
Providing you with an opportunity to nominate people who can make decisions on your behalf if you reach a point where you cannot. Make the right choice for your future with Brockbanks Solicitors, supporting clients across the region, from our offices in Whitehaven, Carlisle, and across Cumbria.
Planning for the future
Understanding the purpose of a Lasting Power of Attorney
No-one wants to imagine the worst happening to them. However, failing to plan for the future could make things very tricky for the people closest to you. If you or a loved one loses mental capacity without a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, the people you trust may not be able to make important decisions on your behalf.
A Lasting Power of Attorney agreement ensures that the right people have the power they need to manage your affairs, if and when the time comes. This can ease the panic and stress in already challenging times.
Understanding the legalities
Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA)
These documents are similar to standard Lasting Powers of Attorney but would have been made prior to 1st October 2007. This was when the Mental Health Act 2005 came into force. An EPA allowed the appointment of an attorney to deal with your property and affairs, but not your health and welfare. An EPA can be used before registration. Your attorney is only required to register the document with the Office of the Public Guardian in the event that you have lost (or are losing) the mental capacity to manage your own finances.
In practice, an attorney acting under an EPA will find that banks and other financial institutions are increasingly reluctant to accept the authority of an EPA until it has been registered.
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA)
These are legal documents that allow you (the ‘donor’) to appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’). These attorneys are here to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf if you were unable to. To make an LPA, you must be 18 or over and be deemed to have mental capacity. In some cases, it may be necessary for you to ask a third party, such as your GP, to confirm this. There are 2 types of LPA, and you can make one or both:
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Health and welfare
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Property and financial affairs
Our private client team can guide you through the process of choosing an attorney and applying for an LPA. We will also assist in registering it with the Office of the Public Guardian.
Eager to get a Power of Attorney in place?
Arrange an appointment by calling our Whitehaven office on