# Enduring Power of Attorney



## ajapale (16 Feb 2005)

I found this excellent post when googling old askaboutmoney Q&A's

*Enduring Power of Attorney*
Joe Asked on 7th August 2001
My uncle is elderly, single and wealthy and a bit doddery. He asked my advice on an investment which seemed to me to be a complete scam aimed at separating him from a good part of his cash. Fortunately he took my advice and rejected the proposal. He is still under pressure from these friends to invest in the scheme. 
He was lucky in that he asked for my advice. If he goes senile, he might invest directly without asking me. 
Could he agree to give power of attorney to me (or another trusted person or committee) so that I would have to approve of any decision made by my uncle ? If he doesn't agree, but becomes senile, could a relative apply to the courts to have him protected from losing his money ?
Thanks, Joe 

*Rainyday Replied:*
Hi Joe - I'm not an expert in this area, but my understanding is as follows;
Your uncle can agree to give you 'power of attorney' which will allow you to manage his finances. 
If it gets to the stage where he is no longer of 'sound mind' (non compos mentis), you can apply for him to be made a 'ward of court'. In this case, a court-appointed person (usually a solicitor I think) is made responsible for managing his finances. As with most legal issues in Ireland, this can be an expensive and drawn out process, and requires medical certification of his condition at a minimum. It's also likely to be something that can stir up family battles.
Hope this helps.
Regards - RainyDay

*MOB replied:*
An ordinary power of attorney lapses when the person who gave it becomes mentally incompetent. At that stage the only option is to apply to have them made a ward of court. This will not always be ideal, as the wards of court office will usually encourage that assets converted into cash on deposit.
An ENDURING power of attorney does not lapse when the person becomes incompetent. It is within the competence of any solicitor to arrange for the execution of an enduring power of attorney. It should not cost more than £700 plus V.A.T. (There is no great consistency on fees, because it is a relatively uncommon transaction. A fee of as little as £150 plus V.A.T might be charged).
Bear in mind that your uncle must currently have his wits about him before he can validly execute a power of attorney. It is ok to be a bit doddery as long as he understands the nature of the document.
Also, the Enduring Power of Attorney is specifically designed to kick in only when your uncle becomes incompetent. In the interim, some other arrangement (joint signing authority on bank accounts, plus an ordinary power of attorney, for example) might be put in place to affer a degree of protection from unwise decisions.


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