Enduring Powers of Attorney Alex Truesdale Wills In Cobham Surrey

Enduring Powers Of Attorney (EPA’s)

Enduring Powers Of Attorney allow you to nominate a trusted friend or relative as your “attorney” (agent) to manage property and money if a loss of mental capacity occurs. However, they have their limitations and, if possible, should be revoked and replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Alex Truesdale Wills Limited: A professional Will writing and estate planning service based in Cobham with clients throughout Surrey, Guildford, Kent, the South West of England and Wales.

Call: 07887 946557 for advice regarding Enduring Powers Of Attorney, Lasting Powers of Attorney and your wider estate planning matters.

Enduring Powers Of Attorney, What Is It?

Enduring Powers Of Attorney allow you to nominate a trusted friend or relative as your “attorney” (agent) to manage property and money if a loss of mental capacity occurs. However, they have their limitations and, if possible, should be revoked and replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Alex Truesdale Wills Limited: A professional Will writing and estate planning service based in Cobham with clients throughout Surrey, Guildford, Kent, the South West of England and Wales.

Call: 07887 946557 for advice regarding Enduring Powers Of Attorney, Lasting Powers of Attorney and your wider estate planning matters.

Enduring Powers Of Attorney

Prior to October 2007, people could grant an Enduring Power of Attorney (“EPA”) which would allow a trusted person to act for them if they could no longer manage their finances.

Any EPA remains valid, whether or not it has been registered with the OPG, provided that both the donor of the Power and the Attorney/s signed the document prior to 1 October 2007.

If you begin to lose the mental capacity to manage your finances, your Attorney/s are under a duty to register your EPA with the OPG. Whilst the registration is being processed (which will take a minimum of eight weeks), your Attorney/s can use your finances for essentials on your behalf such as food or regular household bills. However, they will not be able to deal with larger transactions such as the sale of your house until the EPA has been registered.

Drawbacks Of EPAs:

The four biggest drawbacks with EPAs are that:

ο Once the decision has been made to register an EPA, the donor is treated as mentally incapable and must apply to Court to regain control of their finances.

ο EPAs lack the requirement, under an LPA, of a case-by-case assessment by your Attorney of your decision-making capacity.

ο EPAs do not cover health and welfare matters.

ο EPAs do not permit donors to include binding instructions or preferences. This can be particularly problematic where the donor’s assets include funds under discretionary management: in this case we would recommend replacing the EPA with an LPA for Property and Financial Affairs without delay.

Although in practice you and your Attorney might be able to come to an arrangement regarding the day to day management of your finances which would allow you to retain an active role, it would be difficult to establish that you had the sufficient mental capacity to, for example, make or change your Will, or execute an Advance Decision or Lasting Power of Attorney once an EPA has been registered.

Reviewing your EPA

If you already have an EPA in place, or have been appointed as an Attorney under someone else’s EPA, we should be delighted to review it with you and to discuss whether it remains adequate for your needs. We have experience of registering, and revoking, EPAs and can assist Attorneys in this process.

Client Testimonials

“After many years putting off writing my Will I finally entrusted Alex Truesdale with the task of compiling it for me and my family. My main wish was to pass my estate on to my son, and have guardianship put in place, should the worst happen before he came of age. Alex guided us through the difficult and emotional process with the utmost professionalism and put us at ease from the outset. She was able to address all of the issues we put to her and brought up many we had not considered regarding our estate.
“As we were about to travel abroad, we were also on a very tight schedule for the wills to be drawn up and signed. Alex went above and beyond to make sure everything was in place for us in the allotted time, even to the point of being personally on hand to instruct ourselves and our witnesses during the signing procedure.
“In using Alex Truesdale Wills, we now feel totally secure if the worst should happen our affairs are in order. We will be continuing to draw on her knowledge as and when our wills need updating in the future and are delighted to recommend her first class service.”

BW, May 2018

“The support Alex gave me and my husband after our Wills and LPAs were finalised was second to none especially as he was diagnosed with a terminal illness a few months later. This ongoing support, advice and bringing in other specialists to assist was outstanding and I felt that we were in very good hands and would continue to be when the inevitable happened.
After my husband died, the comfort of knowing all was in order with the Wills was a great relief and her help in the immediate aftermath was much appreciated. It wasn’t just the professionalism but the genuine concern for my situation and that of the family. Alex then continued to guide me through the process and through some pretty complicated issues relating to the estate administration. She always responded to my copious emails and phone calls with clarity, efficiency and care.
The whole process was dealt with in a timely manner and to a very high standard and I felt that I was being looked after like one of her own family.
I can’t recommend Alex highly enough – a very talented professional dedicated to her work with a heart of gold.”

JD, July 2020

“I have known Alex Truesdale for over 6 years, during which time she prepared Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney for my sisters and assisted us in the administration of my sister Elizabeth’s estate after her death in 2018. I testify to her attention to detail, her knowledge and experience in her work and the warmth of her communications whether by letter, by telephone or in person. She responds to us quickly and we have full confidence in what she does on our behalf and on her advice on various aspects. She has a good network of people when particular advice is needed beyond her field of expertise or training. She became a friend to us as a family. I gladly recommend her services to others.”

KH, July 2020

“Thank you again for helping me sort out all our Wills and the funeral plan for my godmother. I cannot believe how timely that was bearing in mind today’s situation. Only good news from her care home so far, but to know that resources are there to help the staff directly if the worst happens certainly gives me peace of mind.”

SC , May 2020

“We would like to thank you for your professional help in getting us to a point of having signed Wills after many years of procrastination. Not only that your advice gave us the impetus to arrange a Civil Partnership and we now feel that we have got at least some of our affairs in order in these worrying times.”

KB, September 2020

“Very clear explanation of what the options and implications were for us. It was also good to have someone focused on the end result we had to get to, as it’s very easy on your own to leave to another day.”

EM, September 2018

“Alex arranged an appointment for my husband and I to update our Wills in view of a change in family circumstances. She was organised, efficient and extremely sensitive to our needs. We discussed advance directives and lasting powers of attorney in-depth – things we had only considered in vague terms previously but realised how intelligent it was to sort them out early.
“I cannot fault Alex’s professionalism and caring attitude, and will be recommending her service to my friends and colleagues.”

SM, September 2019

Good to Know: Related Posts

Attorneys can make decisions and act in your best interest if you cannot do so yourself.

> Read More

Will Writing And Estate Planning From Alex Truesdale Wills

Alex Truesdale Wills Limited offers a professional and personal Will writing service, giving you flexibility and control for the present and your loved one’s peace of mind about the future.

Contact Alex Truesdale today to arrange a free, no-obligation initial consultation, virtual meetings or face to face.