DEEDS OF REVOCATION
A Lasting Power of Attorney is valid only if registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). If signed, but not filed with the OPG, then the Lasting Power of Attorney remains unregistered and so invalid.
Once submitted to the OPG, a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) cannot be changed. Therefore it is important to ensure that the details and information you include when submitting are correct. This might be where a legal expert can help you.
Once your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) has been registered, you cannot add any new attorneys, although if you have made provision for a replacement attorney, you could substitute a current attorney with a replacement attorney. If you remove all your original attorneys, plus your replacement attorneys, then you would need to start again from scratch if you wanted to make any further attorney changes.
Additionally, if you wanted to make any other changes to the content of your LPA, you would need to prepare and sign a Deed of Revocation which has the effect of cancelling the LPA. You would then prepare a new LPA which you will need to file and submit. Remember that the 2 common types of Lasting Power of Attorney are: 1) Financial & Property; and 2) Health & Welfare.
Why might you need to prepare a Deed of Revocation?
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Maybe one of your attorneys has died or is no longer able to make the necessary decisions should you lose mental capacity.
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Maybe you want to alter the scope of the decisions which your attorney can make.
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Maybe you want to allow your attorneys to make alterations to your Will, should any future changes be required.
What happens if you do not revoke an LPA?
If no changes are required to your existing LPA, then you do not need to concern yourself about preparing a Deed of Revocation. Hopefully the LPA may not need to be used, but if it is used, then you can rest assured that the plans you have put in place should come to fruition.
If, however, you need to enact changes to your LPA and decide not to revoke your existing LPA, then it could cause problems for you or your loved ones further down the line if the LPA is needed and any problems arise. This could be very problematic, particularly if important decisions are required for your health or finances.
In order to revoke your LPA, you will need to prepare and sign a Deed of Revocation. If you’d like to explore how to go about this process, contact us today.
How can we help?
IKR Law is a legal services firm which provides exceptional legal services to its clients.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you.
If you are unsure whether your LPA needs changing or revoking, contact us today for a complimentary review. We’d love to be of service to you.
