Do you find yourself switching off when your Accountant starts talking about power of attorney, and personal represntatives?
Avanti Accountants aim to speak with our clients in plain English, ensuring that when it comes to your accounts you’re switched on.
This week we are asking, do you know the difference between power of attorney and lasting power of attorney?
Power of Attorney
This is a formal document giving legal authority from one person (the donor) to another (the attorney) so that the Attorney may act on behalf of their principal. Power of Attorney may be an ordinary General Power or it may be a Lasting Power of Attorney.
Lasting Power of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney can relate to your property and affairs or your personal welfare, i.e. decisions about your medical treatment. In order to make a Lasting Power of Attorney you must have mental capacity to do so, which must be certified by a certificate provider. An ordinary General Power of Attorney will come to an end if you lose your mental capacity, but a Lasting Power of Attorney will not.