Time running out to safeguard future finances
18 April 2007
A LANCASHIRE solicitor is urging people to make an enduring power of attorney (EPA), which could save them hundreds of pounds in legal costs, before they are abolished later this year.
As things stand an EPA is a legal document that enables someone to appoint one or more persons to manage their financial affairs and property, either now or in the future, should they become unable to handle their own finances because of age, mental illness or incapacity.
However the EPA is set to be abolished in October 2007 and replaced with a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), which experts believe will be far more complex and expensive to set up.
Dawn Lamb, a wills and probate expert at Preston-based law firm MWR Solicitors said: “An EPA is a vital part of financial planning that can give people peace of mind knowing that should they need assistance, there is a person they can trust who can deal with their financial matters.
“This may include doing their banking, paying bills and deciding how their money is invested. Unfortunately, when the Lasting Power of Attorney is introduced in full from October 2007 it will replace the relatively simple EPA with a new procedure, which could result in a far more expensive and complicated legal process.
“An existing EPA will still be valid after October and I strongly suggest people seek legal advice to ensure that they make an EPA before the new rules are introduced.”
