Those of you who have ever met Brian Williamson in a professional capacity, or heard him address any meeting of the HBN (Huntingdonshire Business Network) will know that apart from advising on and writing Wills, He also recommends that everyone over 18 should  have an Enduring Power of Attorney.   This makes sure that if through loss of mental capacity or just being older and disinterested you need someone else to make decisions, or take control of your financial matters, it can be done by someone you know and trust.

ENDURING POWERS OF ATTORNEY

People tend to think that their spouse, or partner, or parents, or children will be able to look after their financial and other matters, if they become unable to manage through accident or illness. In point of fact, even a spouse cannot sort out everything, and it may become necessary to ask for a Receiver to be appointed by the Court (£580 fee) to manage matters, then £400 + Court fee every year for a simple case - plus solicitor's fees (so maybe £3,000 in advance and a further £250 for an hour or so a month - for life). The same applies to most businesses. An EPA is VERY cheap insurance against something that could cost thousands if not planned for.

Clearly it is much better (and cheaper!) to appoint your partner, parents, spouse, co-director, children or a friend as Attorney just in case. Perhaps 1 in 5 will need an EPA before retirement, and after retirement over half the population are likely to need one at some stage, whether through complete incapacity, or just because (whilst perfectly mentally capable) they just do not wish to cope with the stress of managing their affairs any longer.

RECOMMENDATION

Everyone over 18 should have an EPA (enduring power of attorney) 

HOWEVER, after September 2007 no NEW Enduring Powers of Attorney can be written, though existing ones, which have been properly signed, will remain valid. 

They (EPAs) are being replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney of which there are two versions – the Financial one which replaces an Enduring Power of Attorney, and a Welfare one which is a new version of an Advance Medical Directive, plus the ability to deal with accommodation issues.  These two documents in draft format are 22 pages long and the issues are as follows:

1. there will be no requirement to advise the family when they are registered, which could lead to widespread abuse and fraud (the very things they were supposed to prevent).
2. anyone wishing to have the ability to use either version of an LPA without further delay will have to register it immediately (2 people, each with both types of Lasting Power of Attorney will have to pay £480 just to register, if the draft Regulations are followed through. 

NOTE

Enduring Powers of Attorney can be active immediately if required, and they will only need registration (£120 or so) if the client loses mental capacity.

Advance Medical Directives  (also known as Living Wills)

Technically they are not legal documents so require no registration.  They can make your views known in advance to doctors, and (perhaps more importantly) appoint Medical Proxies to act on your behalf should you become incapable of doing so.  They have the power of the British Medical Association behind them.  However, they cannot cover accommodation issues, which are the one area we can see where Lasting Powers of Attorney actually improve anything – the rest is negative, in our view.

It is possible the Department of Constitutional Affairs will improve the situation when the final Regulations are announced in the summer of 2007.

In the meantime, clients are recommended to write Enduring Powers of Attorney and Advance Medical Directives.

SUMMARY

An EPA is VERY cheap insurance against something that could cost thousands if not planned for.

The legislation allowing you to do that is about to change; bringing with it more complex documents and regulation, and much higher fees.

However, the old documents can be used until the end of September and once set up will continue in force for as long as necessary.

Delaying till October however means that only the newer more complex and more expensive documents will be available

You may contact Brian Williamson, now, for more information on saving unnecessary expense.

Enquiries@bjwills.co.uk

Or telephone UK - 01487 831853 or 0800 90 20 429