Power of attorney and third-party access

If you allow another person to use your credit card, they’ll get a card and can spend on your account like you do.

• It's simple to apply.
• It's usually free.
• You remain responsible for any outstanding balance.
• The new user will be credit checked.

There are two ways you can do this:

1. ‘Either to sign’ joint account

Your joint account holder has near total control of the account:

• It's simple to apply.
• Both account holders have full access to the account.
• Both account holders need to agree to close the account or stop joint access.

2. 'Both to sign' joint account

You keep some control, but all transactions need two signatures:

• It's simple to set up.
• You keep control, as both account holders need to sign for transactions or requests.
• Using the account day-to-day might be more difficult in practice.

This is useful if you want someone else to access your account for a limited time.

• It's simple and quick to apply.
• It's usually free.
• It gives someone else specific access to your account.
• You can adjust it to suit your needs.
• There are some restrictions - for example we can’t give permission to access your account online.

If you want to act on behalf of someone who is unable to make a decision for themselves, you can apply for a Court of Protection Link opens in a new window order. This is a legal court document letting someone else (called a deputy) make decisions for you. It is for people who have lost capacity with no lasting power of attorney arranged.

A power of attorney is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions for you, or act on your behalf if you can’t or if you don’t want to make your own decisions.

You can only set up a power of attorney while you still have mental capacity.

There are different types of powers of attorney depending on where you live. We’ve got some more information below.

It's never too early to set up a power of attorney, it can save time and money if you can’t manage your own affairs and need someone to look after them for you. It’s an important decision no matter how old you are if you’ve got finances and assets to protect.

You’re can only set up a power of attorney while you still have mental capacity.

If you lose mental capacity and haven’t named someone as an attorney, one of your friends or relatives would have to apply to the Court of Protection (COP). The COP will appoint a deputy to manage your affairs and make decisions on your behalf. This is called a Court of Protection order. But this can be a long and expensive process.

Lasting power of attorney (known as an LPA)

An LPA allows someone else to make decision about your finances. It can come into use if you lose mental capacity, or if you want someone else to be able to make decisions for you when you still have mental capacity.

LPAs need to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before they can be used. They will still work after you lose mental capacity.

You could set up an LPA if you want to make sure someone can act for you if you lose mental capacity in the future.

General power of attorney

A general power of attorney is a document that allows someone else to make decisions for you if you 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 for you if in the short term, like when you're on holiday or if you regularly work abroad.

You don't need to register a general power of attorney with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Enduring power of attorney (known as an EPA)

An EPA is an older form of power of attorney and you can’t apply for one now. They were replaced by lasting powers of attorney. If you already have one that was signed before 1 October 2007, you can still use it. It doesn’t need registered to use if you have mental capacity. Your attorney(s) will need to register it with the Office of the Public Guardian when they think you’re starting to lose or have lost mental capacity.

Continuing power of attorney

A continuing power of attorney allows someone else to make decision about your finances. It can come into use if you lose mental capacity, or if you want someone else to be able to make decisions for you when you still have mental capacity.

Continuing powers of attorney need to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) before they can be used. They will still work after you lose mental capacity.

You may wish to ask a solicitor to help you write a continuing power of attorney.

You could set up a continuing power of attorney if you want to make sure you're covered in the future.

Ordinary power of attorney

An ordinary power of attorney is a document that allows someone else to make decisions for you if you 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 for you if in the short term, like when you're on holiday or if you regularly work abroad.

You don't need to register an ordinary power of attorney with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland).

When you want to apply for a lasting power of attorney (LPA), you can do this using www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney or a solicitor can help you apply.

Your attorney(s) can’t make decisions for you until your LPA is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. This currently costs around £82.

You may want to get a solicitor to draw up the continuing power of attorney. Once it’s drawn up and signed then it needs to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) before your attorney can make decisions for you.

Further information can be found on the OPG website. Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) (publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk)

If you would like to register a power of attorney, please give us a call or pop into your nearest Virgin Money Store.

You’ll need to give us:

• Identification for the donor (if you’re not already a customer) and the attorney(s).
• The original or a certified copy of the power of attorney, or if it's a lasting power of attorney (LPA), you can provide the code that the Office of the Public Guardian gave you to allow us to view an online summary of the LPA.

A certified copy is one where somebody has confirmed that the copy is exactly the same as the original power of attorney.

We only accept copies certified by a solicitor (within the last 6 months) or by you if you still have mental capacity.

Mental capacity means the ability to make or communicate decisions when they need to be made. To have mental capacity you need to be able to understand the decision you’ve got to make, why you need to make it, and the likely outcome of the decision.

Some people will be able to make decisions about some things but not others. For example, they may be able to decide what to buy for dinner but can’t understand about how to operate or manage their bank account.

If your power of attorney only comes into operation after you’ve lost mental capacity then we’ll need to see confirmation of this from a medical professional such as a doctor.

Ordinary/general power

You cancel or revoke an ordinary or general power of attorney simply by letting us know that you don’t want it to apply anymore.

Lasting power of attorney

You can cancel a lasting power of attorney if you still have mental capacity.

You need to send the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) the original LPA and a written statement called a ‘deed of revocation’.

The wording for the deed of revocation can be found through this link Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney: End your lasting power of attorney - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

When you’ve cancelled the power of attorney with the OPG, you need to let us know so that we can update your accounts.

Continuing power of attorney

You can cancel a lasting power of attorney if you still have mental capacity.

You’ll need to send the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) a revocation notice which clearly states what you wish to cancel. The revocation notice can be typed or handwritten and must be signed and dated by you as the granter of the power of attorney. There isn’t standard wording for this.

You’ll also need to send a revocation certificate (which you can find on the Office of the Public Guardian’s website). It needs to be completed by a Scottish solicitor or a UK registered doctor.

They have to interview you to ensure that you understand what you are doing by revoking the power of attorney.

Lasting power of attorney (LPA)

Your LPA may end if your attorney:

• loses the ability to make decisions - ‘loses mental capacity’
• divorces you or ends your civil partnership if they’re your husband, wife or partner
• becomes bankrupt
• is removed by the Court of Protection
• dies

If you’ve got a power of attorney drawn up outside the UK, we’ll need to see the original, or a recently certified copy.

We also need a lawyer in the country it was made in to confirm in writing that:

• the power is fit for purpose in the UK;
• the power of attorney continues if the donor loses mental capacity.

The lawyer’s signature / confirmation must be officially stamped by the government body in the country the power was drawn up in to confirm the authenticity of the solicitor providing the information.

If the person has lost capacity, they can’t set up a power of attorney now as they won’t be able to understand what they are signing.

You would need to go to court to get an order allowing you to act for the person. In Scotland you would apply for a guardianship order and in England & Wales it would be a deputyship order through the Court of Protection.

A guardianship order is an order from the Scottish courts which allows someone to act on behalf of a person who has lost mental capacity. These are usually applied for because the person has lost capacity without putting a power of attorney in place. The process for getting a guardianship order can take some time and can be costly.

A deputyship order is an order from the English Court of Protection which allows someone to act on behalf of a person who has lost mental capacity. These are usually applied for because the person has lost capacity without putting a power of attorney in place. The process for getting a deputyship order can take some time and can be costly.

If you have mental capacity, you can set up what we call a third party mandate. That will give your chosen person(s) full powers to operate your account in the same way that you can, by making payments, taking money out, having a debit card and having access to your internet banking. They would have full access to your account.

A third party mandate will only work while you have mental capacity. So if you lose mental capacity then the person won’t be able to operate your account.

A third party mandate isn’t the same as a power of attorney. It doesn’t work if you lose capacity.

Another difference between someone operating an account under a power of attorney or a third party mandate is that under a power of attorney, the attorney is under a legal duty to act in your best interests. There isn’t such a duty under a third party mandate.

If you would like to set up a third party mandate, please give us a call or pop into your nearest Virgin Money Store.