Enduring Power of Attorney

[Emily Ball]

I am about to register Enduring Power of Attorney. Do I need to inform any relatives of the Donor of my intention to apply to register it , as no relatives have been mentioned in the document? He does have several - non-dependant and in their sixties and seventies, and who are not beneficiaries in his will.

[woofgang]

No you don't have to inform them. You should comply with the wishes of the Donor, I presume as he is signing his own Power of Attourney then he is capable of making such a decision. If he doesn't mind either way, which will cause the least problem, telling them now (are they likely to kick up a fuss and upset the Donor??) or telling them or having them find out when you start to make the decisions?
Is it the financial kind or the all embracing kind and (don't answer this but think about it) do you benefit from the will? If you don't then less probs I would think

[Emily Ball]

thanks Woofgang. The relatives already know that I deal with all his financial affairs on an informal basis and have done so for quite a few years. He trusts me to do so and is anxious that I continue to do so now that he is becoming incapable of managing them himself. I guess it would be the right thing to inform them of my intention to register as a matter of courtesy, though not as a legal obligation.

[Barmaid]

Sch 4 Part 3 of the MCA 2005 provides that prior to registration of an EPA notice should be given to certain relatives.

Full details of notice requirements here:-

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/ukpga_200 50009_en_10#sch4-pt2

(NB, the MCA revoked the Enduring Powers of Attorney Act 1985, but that act is largely recreated in Sch 4 to the MCA)

[LoftyLottie]

Barmaid is right.

You do have to inform relatives before it can be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, regardless of whether they have been mentioned in the Will. I have had to do this recently. You have to inform three groups of relatives and there is a list of the order and shown on Barmaid's link. It can be quite a procedure. I had to inform my mother's siblings, her grandchildren and her siblings children and you have to inform all that are in any one group. Fortunately my mother only had one sibling and one grandchild and her one sibling only has one child.

Registration can only take place five weeks after the necessary people have been informed.

Of course you can use Enduring Power of Attorney before it is registered and the donor can revoke it at any time beforehand. Once it is registered the donor loses these powers.

The new Lasting Power of Attorney is much, much more complicated. I was really pleased I only had to deal with Enduring Power of attorney.

[Emily Ball]

Thank you all for your input. Barmaid's link was particularly helpful. I had decided to notify his relatives on the prescribed form anyway , so it's a good job I had, otherwise I might have had to pay extra fees and delayed the process too.
Sometimes the guides for filling out legal forms are a bit ambiguous, so it does help to get tips from others who have the experience to offer advice
Thanks again..

[woofgang]

my apologies, that's new since I had to do ir

[LoftyLottie]

Life just gets more complicated Woofgang!! ;o( I feel really lucky that I was only dealing with EPA instead of the new LPA which is a complete nightmare. Anyone with an unregistered EPA can still go down the route Barmaid has indicated, but since 2007 no new EPA's could be registered.

[LoftyLottie]

Sorry, I meant no new EPA's could be initiated.

[Mohne]

Lofty...welcome back.....I have been banned....LOL