Revoking an LPA or EPA

from The Will Company

A donor may occasionally review their Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) and realise that their circumstances have changed since the documents were signed. There are unfortunately no steps in place to amend an existing LPA or EPA and if the donor wishes to make changes, they will need to revoke their current documents and replace them with a new LPA.

The creation of a new LPA does not itself explicitly revoke a previous LPA or EPA. A Deed of Revocation is usually required, and some steps will need to be followed.

Revoking an EPA

EPAs cannot be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) until the attorney(s) believe that the donor has lost capacity or is becoming mentally incapable. Most EPAs that you will see in practice will therefore be unregistered.

With an unregistered EPA, the process is simple:

1. A Deed of Revocation should be drawn up including the details of the donor, the details of the attorneys and the date that the EPA was signed by the donor. The Deed should then be signed by the donor and witnessed.
2. The donor should write ‘revoked’, ‘cancelled’ or similar wording over the EPA. The Deed of Revocation should be kept with the EPA. We do not advise destroying the revoked EPA.
3. The donor should inform the attorneys that the EPA has been revoked.

It is advisable that the donor also inform any organisations holding a copy of the EPA, for example the donors bank, that it is now revoked. The EPA or its Deed or Revocation does not need to be sent to the OPG.

If the EPA has been registered, an application will need to be made to the Court of Protection to revoke the EPA. This is not something that we can assist with.

Revoking an LPA

LPAs are slightly more complex, as they can be registered at the OPG at any time.

If the LPA is unregistered, the same procedure as revoking an unregistered EPA should be followed. An LPA is not technically created until it is registered. It could therefore be argued that it is unnecessary to revoke an unregistered LPA using a Deed of Revocation, however this would provide little protection to a donor who has lost capacity and there is no written evidence to prove revocation.

If the LPA is registered, the process will be as follows:

1. A Deed of Revocation should be drawn up including the details of the donor, the details of the attorneys, the date that it was signed by the donor and the date that it was registered. The Deed should then be signed by the donor and witnessed.
2. The donor should inform the attorneys that it is now revoked.
3. The donor should inform any organisation holding a copy of the LPA that it is now revoked.
4. The LPA and its Deed of Revocation should be sent to the OPG.

One Deed of Revocation is required per LPA. One Deed cannot be used to revoke both a Property & Financial Affairs LPA and a Health & Welfare LPA.

As always, we are happy to help. Please let us know if you need any guidance.

Could you do with some FREE, sound advice on:

• Writing a Will – What do I need and how much does it cost?
• Creating Lasting Powers of Attorney – If I was incapacitated who can act on my behalf?
• Property Protection Trusts – Can these really save Care Home Fees?
• Pre-Paid Funeral Plans – With so many to choose from how do I decide which plan is best?

There is so much confusion on these vital areas of estate planning, that sometimes just a chat with an expert in the field can clear up misunderstanding and set out the way ahead, without all the legal jargon.

Steve Worsfold
Affiliate Member of the Society of Will Writers
Advising on Wills/Trusts/Probate/Powers of Attorney

Mobile: 07734 744886
Office: 01903 533681
Email: steve@sussexwillwriters.co.uk
Website: www.sussexwillwriters.co.uk

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