Eduring powers of attorney

This is something that I set up for myself when I was in my 30s and it is something that everyone should put in place while they are in good health. An enduring power of attorney is a legal document that allows someone else to take action and make decisions on your behalf and it usually comes into force when the individual loses mental capacity.

While I have no intention of losing mental capacity just yet, it is vital that a power of attorney is set up while the individual can prove they are of sound mind. Once there is evidence of Alzheimers or dementia it can be very difficult to set one up.

Without an enduring power of attorney in place, it may be necessary to go to court in order to access bank accounts and investments. The new pension freedoms that will allow a different amount to be withdrawn from a pension fund every year will mean that the pensioner must either have capacity to decide how much to take each year, or have an enduring power of attorney in place to allow someone else to make the decision.

It isn’t expensive to set up powers of attorney and many financial planners and solicitors can advise you on this. Be very careful though, about researching this subject online. The law is very different in England, where Enduring Powers of Attorney have been replaced by the much more expensive and complicated Lasting Powers of Attorneys.

There is still a window of opportunity to set up the cheaper Enduring Powers of Attorney before the law changes in Northern Ireland, probably in 2016. Provided you still have mental capacity to do so, you can amend or cancel your enduring power of attorney at any time if you change your mind.

More than one attorney can be appointed and it is possible to set it up so that both attorneys must sign in order for the transaction to happen, or it can be set up so that only one of the attorneys is needed to carry out a transaction on your behalf.

Whichever way you do it, provided you are over 18 and of sound mind, you shouldn’t delay in setting one up as illness and injury can strike at any age.

David Hill is a Chartered Financial Planner and Trust & Estate Practitioner at Hills Financial Planning, 15 Agnew Street, Larne. He can be contacted on 028 28276814, email [email protected] or see www.hillsfinancialplanning.co.uk