A Power of Attorney is a legal form whereby someone (known as the "Donor" in England) gives another person or people the power to make decisions with regard to their affairs. The person or people to whom the powers are given are called "Attorneys".

There are various types of Power of Attorney in English law. An Ordinary Power of Attorney is created for a set period of time in situations where the Donor is going abroad or is not able to act for some other reason and wants someone else to have the authority to act on his or her behalf. The Ordinary Power of Attorney will usually end either at a particular time or on the request of the Donor. An Ordinary Power of Attorney can be general (e.g. to do anything which may legally be done by the Attorney), or be restricted to a specific act (e.g. to sell property or operate bank accounts).

A Power of Attorney is only valid while the Donor has the capacity to ratify the Attorney's actions unless it is made in the form of a Lasting Power of Attorney and registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. This form of Power of Attorney was introduced by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in October 2007 replacing the previous Enduring Power of Attorney - although Enduring Powers of Attorney made prior to the law being changed remain valid.

A Lasting Power of Attorney allows individuals to appoint a legally authorised person or people to take decisions with respect to their health and welfare or financial and property affairs should they become incapable of doing so themselves at some time in the future.

Any adult can make a Lasting Power of Attorney in England if capable of understanding what he or she is doing. No-one, not even close relatives, can make a Lasting Power of Attorney for somebody else, so it must be done while the Donor is able to express his or her own wishes.

You can appoint a Property and Financial Affairs Attorney to run your finances while you still have capacity as well as when you have lost capacity, if you choose. For example, it might be easier for you to give someone the power to carry out tasks such as paying your bills or collecting your support payments if you have problems getting around or if you are abroad a lot. The authority granted to the Attorney in such a case will continue after you lose capacity. In contrast, a Health and Welfare Attorney can only act if the Donor lacks capacity to make decisions her or himself.

When choosing an Attorney it is important that you are confident that they know what you want and that you are happy that they will be making decisions on your behalf. The role of an Attorney is an important one and one that the person you have selected has to agree to take on. You should make sure that you and they completely understand how they have been appointed to act and what this will mean in reality when they are making decisions on your behalf. To help your Attorney(s) make decisions that are in your best interests in the future, you should talk to them now and make them aware of any particular views or wishes you might have.