Power of attorney

Power of Attorney is a legal document whereby one person (the 'Donor') gives another person or persons (the 'Attorney') the power to act on his or her behalf with regard to his or her property and financial affairs. It has to be given while the donor (the person who wants you to act) is fully compos mentis (that is, the person granting the power of attorney must be of sound mind).

Please note that we do not provide the public with assistance with Power of Attorney.

The most common types of Power of Attorney in England and Wales are:

Ordinary Power of Attorney- which can be general or limited to specific affairs
Lasting Power of Attorney- which can be used in the event of the Doner's mental incapacity.

Ordinary Power of Attorney

Usually, an Ordinary Power of Attorney is created for a set period of time in cases where the Donor is going abroad or is unable to act for some other reason and wishes someone else to have the authority to act on his or her behalf. An Ordinary Power of Attorney will usually end either at a specified time or upon the request of the Donor at any time using a Deed of Revocation and will automatically be revoked if the Donor loses mental capacity. There is no requirement for the Ordinary Power of Attorney to be registered.

There are two types of Power of Attorney:

• General Power of Attorney
  This covers every action that might require a signature,
  or
• Specific Power of Attorney
  This is limited to a single action such as selling a property.

Other points

• Forms to authorise granting Power of Attorney can be obtained from good stationers or from the Public Guardianship Office.
• If the donor becomes mentally incapacitated, the Attorneyship becomes invalid.
• You do not need the services of a solicitor to obtain a Power of Attorney.

Lasting Power of Attorney

An LPA is a legal document that you (the Donor) make using a special form. It allows you to choose someone now (the Attorney) that you trust to make decisions on your behalf about things such as your property and affairs or personal welfare at a time in the future when you no longer wish to make those decisions or you may lack the mental capacity to make those decisions yourself.

An LPA can only be used after it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

The types of LPA

There are two different types of LPA:

• a Personal Welfare LPA
• a Property and Affairs LPA

Who can make an LPA?

Anyone aged 18 or over, with the capacity to do so, can make an LPA appointing one or more Attorneys to make decisions on their behalf. You cannot make an LPA jointly with another person; each person must make his or her own LPA.

Anchor Point:GuardianshipOffice

The Office of the Public Guardian supports and promotes decision making for those who lack capacity or would like to plan for their future. Their contact details are as follows:

Office of the Public Guardian
Archway Tower
2 Junction Road
London N19 5SZ

Customer Services: 0845 330 2900
Text phone : 020 7664 7755 (this is intended for people who are deaf or hearing-impaired)

Website: http://www.publicguardian.gov.uk/
Email: customerservices@publicguardian.gsi.gov.uk