Management of a Resident’s Affairs (Part 2)

Originally published June 2004

In a previous briefing we looked at the procedure for the Court of Protection to appoint a receiver to administer a resident’s affairs. Such an application may be made only when the patient has lost capacity to manage their own affairs. ¹

There are limited possible ways in which an individual’s affairs may be managed by another person. In this briefing we look at the role of attorneys, either under a traditional power of attorney or an Enduring Power of Attorney.

A Power of Attorney enables an individual to delegate to another the responsibility for any of his or her personal affairs.

There are two types of power. An ordinary power of attorney ceases to have effect when the person who grants the power (the donor) becomes mentally incapable. An ordinary power of attorney could be used to authorise the recipient of the power (the attorney) to do something such as purchase a house on behalf of the donor. An