Enduring Power of Attorney vs Assisted Decision Making Capacity

AndrewJRenko

I've been invited by a solicitor to sign an Enduring Power of Attorney form for an older person.


According to this;

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/before_a_death/power_of_attorney.html
the Enduring Power of Attorney process has been replaced by the Assisted Decision Making process under the new Assisted Capacity legislation


Is the solicitor barking up the wrong tree? Should we be going through the Assisted Capacity legislation instead?

ohnonotgmail

I had to sign one of these for my mother very recently so i hope they are still in use. though i do note on the page you linked to:

Part 7 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 provides for new arrangements for those who wish to make an Enduring Power of Attorney. When the 2015 Act is commenced, no new Enduring Power of Attorneys will be created under the 1996 Act.

My reading of that is that EPOAs still exist but they are now created under the 2015 act and not the 1996 act.

hullaballoo

Part 7 hasn't been commenced yet along with a whole load of other sections of that act.

EPOAs are still created under the 1996 Act and your solicitor is correct to create the power under that Act until such a time as the 2015 Act is commenced in relevant part, which could happen tomorrow or never. Ministerial prerogative innit.

ohnonotgmail

Thanks for that hullaballoo. I couldn't see if the 2015 act was commenced. will the commencement of section 7 make any difference to existing EPOAs?

homer911

No it won't make any difference

AndrewJRenko

hullaballoo wrote: »

Part 7 hasn't been commenced yet along with a whole load of other sections of that act.

EPOAs are still created under the 1996 Act and your solicitor is correct to create the power under that Act until such a time as the 2015 Act is commenced in relevant part, which could happen tomorrow or never. Ministerial prerogative innit.

Thanks, very helpful.