I have an enduring power of attorney signed and witnessed in 2005 for my elderly relative who still has mental capacity. It permits me to act in relation to all his property and affairs. It has been accepted by banks and solicitors who dealt with the sale of his property. They have all taken copies of the original document and verified my identity, address etc.
My relatives care home after two years have asked me to show them the EPA. This I did. I was told it was not an EPA but an application for one. Since the form is headed “Enduring Power of Attorney” and has a footnote on the front page “You can cancel this power at any time …” I cannot believe why the care home don’t understand what the document is. Since the donor still has mental capacity it doesn’t need to be registered and stamped in any way. And since it is the original it doesn’t need a solicitor to certify it as a copy.
I’m sure that when the care home make further enquiries they will realise that the EPA is a valid document.
My main purpose in posting is to ask what right the care home has to insist on having sight of and copying an Enduring Power of Attorney which deals purely with financial matters. The only use now made of the EPA is to pay care home fees and other minor expenses. If the donor lives a few more years and needs me to seek local authority funding I will of course need to use the EPA which will of course be registered with the Public Trust Office if the donor is becoming mentally incapable of managing his affairs.
I’ve not come across this with a care home before and so can’t really advise, other than to say that as it’s been accepted by everyone else, I don’t really get it. The fact is that a finance and property EPA is active from day one, without the need for anyone to be involved later. If the Court of Protection has approved it, it should have a number cut out at the bottom of every page in dot form. At least, all the ones I’ve seen are like that. That’s the reference number used by the Court of Protection, and it verifies that your EPA is in place.
There were some changes in POA’s a few years ago.
The old ones are still valid.
Newer POA’s can be for either financial matters, health matters, or both.
I suspect the home isn’t familiar with the older type.
They were not. They insisted that my EPA which was created before LPAs came in on 1 October 2007 was simply an application form. And as the donor still has mental capacity it remains valid. After directing them to a Gov.uk website about EPAs they will realise they were lacking in understanding.
The care home have now accepted that as my relative still has full mental capacity his Enduring Power of Attorney remains valid and does not need to be registered yet.
But I have another question. Can an Enduring Power of Attorney (created in 2005) be registered while the donor still has mental capacity? A link to an Office of the Public Guardian or Gov.UK on this specific question would be appreciated. I’m searching but will phone or email them if necessary.