Lasting power of attorney (LPA)

A power of attorney is a legal document where one person (the donor) give someone they trust (the attorney) the right to make decisions on their behalf and in their best interests. LPAs were introduced in 2007 to replace enduring powers of attorney (EPAs).

General (or ordinary) power of attorney

A general power of attorney is a much simpler document and can only be used while you still have mental capacity. It'll stop when you lose capacity to make your own decisions.

You might want to set one up if you need someone to act on your behalf on a temporary basis, for example while you're on holiday.

You can buy these online or at a high street stationers. A solicitor can also prepare one for you, for a fee.

You don't need to register a general/ordinary power of attorney document with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) but you'll need to register it with us.

Enduring power of attorney (EPA)

An EPA is the legal authorisation to manage someone's financial affairs.

You can’t apply for an EPA anymore, LPAs replaced these. However, if you already have one that isn’t yet registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) but need to start using it, you can, provided it was created and signed before 1 October 2007. Your attorney needs to register it with the OPG when they think you’re starting to lose or have lost mental capacity.

The COP is a specialist court that makes decisions on financial or welfare matters for people who lack mental capacity to make decisions on their own. They’ll become involved if someone becomes mentally incapacitated and doesn’t have a valid power of attorney. They’ll appoint someone as deputy to make decisions on the account holder’s behalf. Visit www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/court-of-protection to find out more.

The OPG protects people in England and Wales who may not have the mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves about their health, property and finances. The OPG registers powers of attorney.

Mental capacity is the ability to make a specific decision at the time it needs to be made. You'll need to understand the decision and any implications of that decision.

If there's a restriction on the attorney only using the power of attorney when you're mentally incapable, we'll ask for independent medical confirmation of this before we register the power of attorney. 

You'll have responsibility for the donor's decisions about their day to day finances, including:

• managing bank and building society accounts
• paying household bills
• dealing with pensions, benefits, shares, investments, insurance or property
• sorting out tax issues.

You'll also be able to arrange gifts on the donor's behalf, as long as the donor has not given specific instructions or guidance about gifting, but you should follow the OPG's rules and consider:

• is the gift to someone related to or connected to the donor - or to a charity they'd normally have given to?
• is the gift to someone for a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary?
• is the gift of reasonable value, given the size of the donor's estate and their needs for the future?

For more information go to www.gov.uk/lasting-power-attorney-duties

You can apply for an LPA online at www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney, or a solicitor can help you do this. Unfortunately, we can’t do it for you. You’ll then need to register it with the OPG before your attorney can start making decisions for you. This currently costs around £82.

To register a power of attorney, we’ll always ask you and your attorneys to provide us with :

• the original or certified copy of the power of attorney document and/or your digital access code if you have an LPA that is available to view digitally;
• a completed attorney registration form; and
• identification for you, the donor, and your attorneys - if you don’t already have an account with us, or you’re new to Coventry Building Society.

If you’re opening a new savings account with us, complete and return the account application form, along with ID, the attorney registration form and the power of attorney document.

If you’ve set up an LPA online with the OPG, we’ll need the digital access code so we can view the summary of the document online.

We can accept the LPA digitally, as long as it’s been registered in England & Wales. However, in some circumstances we may need to view the physical LPA. We reserve the right to request the original or certified copy of the LPA .

We aren’t able to accept powers that have been drawn up outside England and Wales, unless they’re registered with the relevant office in that country.

For us to register a paper power of attorney document, we have to see either the original or a certified copy of your power of attorney*. Certified means that someone has confirmed the copy is exactly the same as the original power of attorney document. We can't accept a photocopy of a certified document.

The power of attorney can only be certified by a solicitor or by you (the donor) if you still have mental capacity.

A certified copy must contain the following words at the bottom of every page:

'I certify this is a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original lasting power of attorney.'

Every page, including any blank pages, must also be signed and dated.

If a solicitor certifies the document, they must sign their name and include the following details: full name, profession, business address and phone number. An office stamp is sufficient to confirm profession, business address and phone numbers.

*we are unable to accept a photocopy of a certified document

• the account application form
• identification
• the attorney registration form
• the power of attorney document.

We're unable to accept documents that have been drawn up outside England and Wales unless they’re registered with the relevant office in that country.

Unless they're already existing members, all attorneys and donors will need to provide the following ID:

One item from group A, to confirm who they are.  

One item from group B, to confirm their name and address.

ID can be used to either confirm who you are, or your name and address but not both. For example, you can't use a driving license to confirm who you are, as well as your name and address. 

At a branch: attorneys and donors must provide original documents to prove who they are, and their name and address.

By post: if you're sending ID, please include certified copies of the items where indicated, in case originals are lost in the post.

Group A - to confirm who they are

• Passport (UK or foreign) - current, valid and full
• Valid (UK or EEA) photocard driving license (full or provisional)
• EEA member state identity card
• Full old style paper driving license (UK) - current, signed
• DWP pension entitlement letter - valid for the current year 
• Birth certificate/adoption certificate (under 18s only)
• Any OPG registered document e.g. power of attorney document (donor only)

Group B - to confirm their name and address

• Most recent monthly invoice from a residential care home or recent headed letter confirming full name of the donor and that they live at the address (donor only)
• Full or provisional UK photocard or old style driving license, current, signed 
• Bank/building society statement - less than 3 months old and not printed from the internet. Those issued by Coventry Building Society are not acceptable
• House insurance certificate - valid for the current year 
• Council/local authority tax bill less than 12 months old and valid for the current year
• Utility bills (i.e. gas, electricity, water) or cable/satellite/phone bill (excluding mobile phones) - less than 3 months old and not printed from the internet

All identification documents will need certifying

The types of people that can certify identification documents are different to those who can certify a power of attorney. 

You can’t certify your own identification documents.

Copies of your documents should have been certified within the last 12 months. 

The person certifying is confirming that the copy is exactly the same as the original document. They must write the following words on the copy: 

‘I confirm that I have seen the original document.’ 

The certifier must sign their name and include the following details - full name, profession and qualification (where applicable), business address (where applicable) and phone number. 

The person certifying must not be related to you in any way e.g. spouse, partner, sibling, parent, child or in-law, and they must not be named as a joint account holder or borrower on your mortgage. 

The person certifying should be in current employment, but we will also accept certification from a person who has retired (unless the list below specifically indicates that the person should still be serving), provided they still hold the qualification and are a member of the relevant institute. 

Copies of identification documents can be certified by one of the following: 

• Legal professional (Solicitor registered in England and Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland, Barrister registered in England and Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland or Notary Public registered in any country) 
• Qualified accountant (registered with either ICAEW, ICAS, CAI, ACCA, AAT, CIPFA or CIMA)
• Public sector official (serving Officer of the Armed Services, serving Police Officer, teacher in current employment at a state school)
• Medical professional (Doctor employed in the NHS, Dentist registered with the relevant national professional body) 
• Post Office official (Person authorised under the Post Office Document Certification Service)
• Embassy official (An Embassy, consulate or high commission officer in the country of issue of the relevant document) 
• Other (Local Government Councillor, Member of Parliament, Bank Manager, Building Society Manager or Minister of Religion)

If you have a non-UK passport, this must be certified by a UK bank or building society manager, solicitor or embassy official only.

This is the code we need to access the summary of your power of attorney document online if the OPG has set up your lasting power of attorney (LPA) this way.

A will is only valid when you die and is a way of distributing any of your wealth to the people you choose. But a power of attorney makes sure that your interests are protected while you’re still living, by someone you trust, when you’re no longer able to.

As soon as we're aware of a COP order being in place, account access will be restricted. In some situations the donor may be able to use the account - let us know if this is the case and we'll see what we can do to help. 

No, the attorney’s details will be noted on the account and we’ll correspond with them if we’re asked to but the account and funds will stay in your name. 

Yes, the attorney will have access to all of your accounts, unless there are specific restrictions specified in the power of attorney document or Court of Protection order.

Yes, provided there are no restrictions in the documents, or the attorneys aren’t going to act jointly. The attorney should operate the account as the donor would, in line with account terms and conditions.

If you’re a deputy you’ll have to contact us to see if online access is possible.

Yes, if the account type allows and there are no restrictions in the power of attorney/Court of Protection order.

Powers of attorney and Court of Protection orders aren’t valid any longer.

If a sole attorney dies and there are no replacement attorneys in the LPA, then the LPA will come to an end and an entirely new one will need to be made (if the donor still has mental capacity). The LPA can continue if there’s more than one attorney and it is stated that they must act ‘jointly and severally’, or there are replacement attorneys included in the LPA. Find out more at www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/end

Yes, it’s best to contact the OPG directly for more information.

There are a number of ways a power of attorney can end, see the list below.

• a donor can cancel it. You’ll need to write to the OPG to do this. This is called a Deed of Revocation (we’ll need to see this). You’ll need to send them the original power of attorney document too
• a donor dies
• an attorney loses mental capacity and there are no other attorneys or replacement attorneys who can act
• an attorney divorces the donor, or ends their civil partnership
• a sole attorney becomes bankrupt
• a sole attorney is removed by the COP
• a sole attorney dies and there are no replacement attorneys
• a sole attorney doesn't want to be an attorney any longer (disclaims)
• the COP cancels the LPA.

For more information on these, go to www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/end

It might be that our Online Services or Telephone Services could make it easier for you to manage your money. We also have a trusted helper withdrawal form available for you, which could give someone short-term authority to make transactions on your behalf. 

A power of attorney is a useful way to maintain control of your finances on a longer term basis. It's important that you speak to a legal professional before making long-term decisions about your finances.