How to prepare for your enduring power of attorney (EPA) appointment
It's time to complete your enduring power of attorney with an in-person appointment.
You’re nearly there! It's time to complete your enduring power of attorney (EPA) with an in-person appointment. An EPA must be signed and witnessed in person to be valid.
Good on you for getting this sorted now as it can help protect you in the future.
Get ready for your signing appointment
Before you come to see us, there are a few things you’ll need to do.
Please bring valid photo ID to your appointment. See the full list of acceptable forms of identification here.
If Public Trust is your appointed property attorney, you must verify your identity via the secure APLYiD link emailed to you in a separate email. If this has not been completed before your meeting, we may not be able to sign your documents. If you have not received it or don’t know what this is, please call us on 0800 371 471.
Please review our customer Terms of Engagement before your appointment. These can be found here.
What to expect during your appointment
To meet our legal obligations under the PPPR Act 1988, during your appointment we will:
· Explain your EPA
· Advise you on key sections
· Confirm you have mental capacity and you’re not being influenced by anyone.
The people you appoint as your attorneys or successor attorneys do not need to attend with you.
You’ll receive a copy of your signed EPA after the appointment. Your attorneys must sign on the same physical document in order for it to be valid at a later stage with impartial witnesses. (If you are appointing attorneys who live overseas, the documents will need to be sent overseas and the requirement for the witnesses is significantly different, so please talk to us about this.)
After this we recommend you upload your final document to your Public Trust Online account so we have a copy on file.
Witnesses need to be over 18 years of age, not named in the document and not be family members.
Your EPA fee includes one signing appointment. Additional appointments may incur extra costs.
Why mental capacity matters
It’s important when you’re setting up your EPA you understand what you’re signing and what it means.
The legal term for this is “capacity”, and it’s important because an EPA includes decisions that affect you and your future.
If someone signs an EPA without capacity, this can cause legal issues at the time the EPA is activated and the EPA may not be valid.
To help things run smoothly at the appointment, we recommend bringing a medical certificate to the appointment if there may be doubts about your capacity. You can get one from your medical professional, one who is qualified to assess capacity. The medical certificate needs to include specific details. We can provide a helpful template for this, just get in touch.
Some examples where a medical certificate could be required are if you are requesting something radical within your EPA, if it’s completely different from the last EPA you made, or you are aged over 80.
If you have any questions about whether you might require a medical certificate, please call our team on 0800 371 471 who can guide you.
Please don’t be offended if we ask. It’s an important step for us to make sure you’re making your own decisions. If there is any uncertainty about this during your appointment, you won’t be able to proceed and you might have to pay for a new appointment.
Confirm you’re signing voluntarily
At your appointment, you’ll be interviewed on your own where possible. This is an important safeguard to ensure you're making your decisions freely.
It’s important you are not pressured, forced or manipulated into making decisions that do not reflect your wishes.
You are welcome to bring a support person to your EPA signing appointment. This will be recorded in your interview notes and the trustee must be confident you are signing it voluntarily.
See you soon
Being prepared before your appointment can help things run smoothly.
We look forward to welcoming you to one of our centres and if you have any questions ahead of your appointment, call us on 0800 371 471. We’re here to help.
If you prefer to organise your own signing appointment with another legal representative, please call 0800 371 471. Our team can guide you on what’s required to ensure your EPA is legally valid.