Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA)
EPAs allow you to keep control of who manages your affairs at a time in your life when you may be very vulnerable. This best protects you and makes life easier for those around you.
What is an EPA?
An EPA enables you to appoint a person (attorney) to look after your affairs if you ever lose capacity. There are two types of EPAs – Property and Personal Care and Welfare.
The EPA for Property allows your attorney to look after your assets including finances. You can appoint more than one attorney for this type.
An EPA for Personal Care and Welfare gives your attorney responsibility for making decisions about your personal matters which includes medical care or where you live. You can only appoint one attorney at a time for this type of EPA.
It is strongly recommended to appoint replacement attorneys (called successor attorneys) if your initial choice is unable to act. This future-proofs your EPA against life’s events.
Do I need an EPA?
If you lose capacity and do not have EPAs in place then it will be very difficult for your loved ones to deal with your matters. This will unnecessarily add stress to what is likely to already be a stressful time. If there is nobody able to act for you or sign documents on your behalf then your family would need to apply to the Family Court to be appointed as your Property Manager and Welfare Guardian. This is an expensive time-consuming process that can be avoided by having EPAs in place.
When should I arrange EPAs?
You should enter into EPAs as early in your life as possible. They are not a matter just to consider when you are elderly. You need to have the mental capacity to be able to enter into an EPA and the aim is to enter into them when you are young and healthy and then they are stored away only to be used in the future if you lose capacity.
It is also important to note that losing capacity is not something that only affects the elderly. Capacity can be lost at any stage in your life (permanently or temporarily) if you experience a medical issue or accident. The earlier the better is therefore the answer to when you should enter into an EPA.
EPAs allow you to keep control of who manages your affairs at a time in your life when you may be very vulnerable. This best protects you and makes life easier for those around you.