I wanted to talk a little bit about Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) today.
These were the precursors to Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and many of you, or your parents, may have Enduring Powers of Attorney in place.
Whilst EPAs are useable, I have a problem with them. Like LPAs, EPAs can only be used once registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.
Unlike LPAs, EPAs can only be registered once you’ve lost mental capacity. And how long does registration take? Could be anywhere between 8 – 10 weeks, or more if the OPG are busy. And boy are they busy right now.
LPAs can be registered as soon as you write them so they are ready to go as soon as you need them.
So if your loved on is happily sat thinking if anything happens to them then you can jump right in and start taking care of them, would they be happy to know it might be 10 + weeks before you can act? And in serious health situations would that be too late?
If you or your family members ever answer the ‘Have you got your will and LPAs sorted?” question with “Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure we dealt with that years back” tell them to get those documents out of storage, have a look at them, and make sure they’re actually going to do what they want them to, when they want them to.
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