Registration of an Enduring Power of Attorney
The responsibility for bringing an Enduring Power of Attorney (“EPA”) under the Enduring Power of Attorney Act 1996 into effect lies with the Attorney who should do so when he believes that the Donor who appointed him as Attorney is losing or has lost capacity in making decisions about his care or finances.
It is usually advisable that the Attorney would need to advise the Solicitor who acted for the Donor when the EPA was created that he believes that it now needs to be registered.
The Attorney does not have to use the Donor’s Solicitor but whatever Solicitor is appointed must first obtain a Certificate from a Doctor caring for the Donor confirming that the Donor is or is becoming incapable of looking after his own affairs. The Certificate must also give medical reasons for this loss of capacity.
There is then a procedure which must be followed. The first step is that a document signed by the Attorney has to be served by the Solicitor on the Notice Parties. The Notice parties are the two parties that would have been notified of the making of the Enduring Power of Attorney when the Donor made it. Other parties that must be served are the Donor himself and the Wards of Court office notifying them of the Attorney’s intention to register the Donor’s EPA.
A five week period has to be provided for any objections by any of the relevant parties and some further documents are then signed by the Attorney and served on the same parties before registration is effected by lodging all of the documentation with the Wards of Court Office.
Once the Power of Attorney is registered it cannot be revoked by the Donor. Once the Wards of Court Office have completed the registration process they will issue a Certificate of Registration which bears the Wards of Court stamp.
If the Power of Attorney has been registered it is still important for the Attorney to retain a copy of the Enduring Power of Attorney as this will be proof of the nature of the personal and/or financial decisions that the Attorney has power to make.
If you have any queries regarding the foregoing or require any information relating to the making of an Enduring Power of Attorney or indeed a Will please do not hesitate to contact any of the Solicitors on 01-2960666 or info@dillon.ie
