What is the difference between lasting and enduring power of attorney

You must enter into a Deed of Revocation and serve this on your attorneys and send it to the Office of the Public Guardian if it is registered. Talk to the experts — Wilson Browne Solicitors. All the help you need. When the donor is becoming or has become mentally incapable the attorney is under a duty to register.

It is possible to insert restrictions or conditions into an EPA. It was not possible to write preference into your EOA but many people wrote letters of wishes. If this occurs, the EPA will no longer be valid. An LPA allows you to add replacement attorneys, should this happen. Therefore, an LPA will still be valid, even if your first appointed attorney can no longer act for you. Another key difference is that an LPA allows you to choose whether or not you wish for it to be used following loss of mental capacity, a deterioration in your physical capacity, or both.

EPAs, however, commonly contained restrictions which created problems in relation to this, meaning they could only be used if you lost mental capacity. LPAs also require a certificate provider. This means that a third party must sign to confirm that the person making the LPA still has the mental capacity to make this choice themselves. This helps to protect people and remove the risks of giving power to others under undue influence or pressure. If something happens and you no longer have the mental capacity to make decisions yourself, if you do not have an EPA or LPA, there will be no one legally able to make decisions for you.

For many years, Enduring Powers of Attorney EPA were in place to make primarily property and financial decisions only, in any event where they needed to be made on your behalf. Since the new regulations have been in effect, an EPA provides no specific allowance for decisions relating to health and welfare.

Any EPA currently in place, and made prior to the October changes, is still valid, but only for matters of property and finance. The newer LPAs are more versatile and comprehensive, giving you more safeguards and protections if you suffer a decline in mental capacity or physical health.

With this in mind, here are three key aspects to think about when you decide to update to an LPA. This means for a decision to be made on your behalf and in your best interests, all those named have to agree with that decision. With your permission, they can act alone or make decisions with other attorneys on your behalf. One of the biggest changes introduced with LPAs gives you the opportunity to appoint replacement attorneys if you need to.

There are several situations where you can call on a substitute attorney to step in to replace the original attorney if required. These include:.