Enduring Power of Attorney in Northern Ireland: What You Need to Know

By Paula McGlone, Senior Associate, Mallon & Co Solicitors

We get asked about this a lot. Clients come in and say they’ve been watching Martin Lewis and he was talking about getting a Power of Attorney sorted. They’re right to be thinking about it. Martin covered the topic on his ITV show earlier this year, and his advice was spot on: do not assume your family can just access your money if something happens to you. They can’t. Not even if it’s the money needed to pay for your care.

But here is the thing. What Martin was talking about is a Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA. That is the system in England and Wales. We do things differently.. Here, what you need is an Enduring Power of Attorney, or EPA. The principle is the same but the rules are different, and it is important to understand the distinction.

So What Is an EPA?

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal document that lets you appoint someone you trust to look after your financial affairs and property if you are ever unable to do so yourself. That might be because of dementia, a stroke, a serious illness, or an accident. Your chosen person is called your “attorney” (nothing to do with American lawyers, it is just the legal term).

The important point is this: an EPA continues to work even after you lose mental capacity. That is what makes it different from an ordinary Power of Attorney, which stops being valid the moment you can no longer make your own decisions. In other words, an ordinary one fails you at exactly the point you need it most.

How Is This Different from What Martin Lewis Was Talking About?

Martin was talking about LPAs, which is the system used in England and Wales. The main difference you need to know about is this: in England, you can set up an LPA that covers health and welfare decisions, things like where you live, what medical treatment you receive, and your day to day care. Here, an EPA only covers property and financial affairs. There is no equivalent document for health and welfare decisions here. That is something the law may change in the future, but for now it is not available.

The bottom line is that if you live in Northern Ireland, you need an EPA, not an LPA. If someone tries to sell you an LPA from an online service, it will not be valid here.

What Happens If You Don’t Have One?

This is where Martin Lewis was at his most persuasive, and he is absolutely right. If you lose the ability to manage your own affairs and you do not have an EPA in place, your family cannot simply step in. Your bank accounts can be frozen. Your bills may go unpaid. Your property cannot be sold or managed. Even your spouse or your children have no automatic legal right to deal with your finances.

Instead, your family would need to apply to the Office of Care and Protection, which is part of the High Court, for a controllership order. That process involves court proceedings, can take many months, and costs significantly more than putting an EPA in place while you still can. The court will also decide who the controller should be, and it may not be the person you would have chosen.

When Should You Do It?

Now. That is the honest answer. You can only make an EPA while you have full mental capacity, meaning you understand what you are doing and can make your own decisions. If you wait until there is a problem, it is too late.

Most of our clients set up an EPA at the same time as making their will. It makes sense because you are already thinking about the future and who you want to look after things. The whole process is straightforward and can usually be done in a single appointment. You do not need to make a Will  to have an EPA though and you can make one without making a Will if you would prefer to do so. 

Who Should You Appoint?

Choose someone you trust completely. It should be someone who is good with money, who understands your wishes, and who you are confident will act in your best interests.

You can appoint more than one attorney, and many of our clients do. If you appoint two or more, you have a choice about how they work together. They can act jointly, which means they must all agree on every decision before anything can be done. Or they can act jointly and severally, which means each attorney can make decisions on their own without needing the other to sign off. There are pros and cons to each, and we will talk you through what works best for your situation.

Can You Control When the EPA Kicks In?

Yes, and this is something a lot of people do not realise. You can include a condition in your EPA that it should only be registered if and when a medical practitioner certifies that you have become mentally or physically incapable of managing your own affairs. This gives you an extra layer of protection because it means your attorney cannot register the EPA and start acting under it unless a doctor has confirmed that you are no longer able to manage things yourself. It is a sensible safeguard and one we discuss with every client.

Get in Touch

If you have been meaning to get this sorted, or if you watched Martin Lewis and thought “I should do something about that,” give us a call. We can talk you through the options and have everything in place quickly and affordably. Contact us in Maghera on 028 796 42670 or Coleraine on 028 7034 3483. We also offer after-hours appointments if daytime does not suit.

Paul McGlone

Senior Associate, Mallon & Co Solicitors

Station Master’s House, 16 Station Road, Maghera BT46 5BS