Choosing your attorney

Because you may be signing over decisions about your assets and finances, and how you will be cared for if you lose the mental capacity to make your own decisions, choosing your attorney needs careful thought.

Your attorney(s) must be trustworthy, organised, and willing. They must be aged 18 years or older (16 in Scotland) and have the mental capacity to make decisions about what's best for you. They can be family, friends, a spouse or partner, or a solicitor. In some cases, someone who is bankrupt may be barred from acting as an attorney involving financial affairs.

You should discuss the duties and responsibility involved with those you have in mind before deciding.

Guidance and review when writing your Power of Attorney

Our 'Self Service & Legal Review' option enables you to have your document reviewed by one of our wills specialists to provide extra peace of mind. You can also call or email our wills specialists with any questions you may have as you complete your forms. Our Power of Attorney service includes guidance notes on what to do and to consider when completing your Power of Attorney. We also advise our customers to refer to the Office of the Public Guardian's guidance notes. Scottish customers should refer to the guidance notes provided by Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) and customers from Northern Ireland should refer to the guidance notes provided by Department of Justice (Northern Ireland) .

How do you want your attorneys to act?

If you choose more than one attorney, you must decide how you want them to act. You can say they should act jointly or jointly and severally:

• Acting jointly means they must always agree all decisions.
• Acting jointly and severally means they can act together but can also act on their own.
• Acting jointly for some decisions and jointly and severally for other decisions (This option is not available on our forms for Scotland, please refer to the Office of the Public Guardian Scotland)

Registering your Power of Attorney

Before your attorneys can use a power of attorney it must be registered, and this process can take anywhere between four and ten weeks. (In Northern Ireland you do not have to register an Enduring Power of Attorney until the donor has lost capacity).

• In England, register with the Office of the Public Guardian
• In Scotland, with the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland
• In Northern Ireland, with the Office of Care and Protection.

What if it's too late to create a Lasting Power of Attorney?

If someone no longer has the mental capacity to make their own decisions, then they won't be able to make a power of attorney. In England and Wales you will need to apply to the Court of Protection. In Scotland to the nearest Sheriff Court, for a 'Guardianship Order' and in Northern Ireland you will need to apply to the Office of Care and Protection for a 'Controllership Order'.