What Can A Power Of Attorney Do? | POA Authority

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What an Attorney can do

An attorney can help make decisions about someone's finances, or make decisions on their behalf.

If the power appoints a sole attorney or multiple attorneys who can each act separately (e.g jointly and severally) the table below provides guidance on the services that we can provide.

If the power appoints more than one attorney to act together (i.e. 'jointly'), all attorneys have to act together. This means that any services restricted to sole access cannot be provided. This includes debit cards, internet banking, mobile banking and telephone banking.

If the power of attorney document contains restrictions, we need to comply with the restrictions which may mean that we cannot provide some of these services.

Summary of what an attorney can do
What an attorney can do	General Power of Attorney	Enduring Power of Attorney	Lasting Power of Attorney
Manage donor's account/s if mental capacity is lost¹	No	Yes	Yes
Hold a debit card²	Yes	Yes	Yes
Issue cheques / make payments (e.g. bills) / withdraw cash	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pay in cash / cheques	Yes	Yes	Yes
Order cheque book / credit book	Yes	Yes	Yes
Order a replacement debit card / PIN²	Yes	Yes	Yes
Order a statement	Yes	Yes	Yes
Set up / amend / cancel standing orders and direct debits	Yes	Yes	Yes
Access phone banking²	Yes	Yes	Yes
Access online banking³	No	Yes	Yes
Access to mobile banking²	No	Yes	Yes
Change donor's address	Yes	Yes	Yes
Apply for ISAs	No	Yes	Yes
Open / close accounts on behalf of the donor	No	Yes	Yes
Obtain information regarding the donor's account/s	Yes	Yes	Yes
Retrieve items from safekeeping	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sign a mortgage loan agreement	Yes	Yes	Yes
Arrange an overdraft	No	No	No

Summary of what an attorney can do
What an attorney can do	Manage donor's account/s if mental capacity is lost¹
General Power of Attorney	No
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Hold a debit card²
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Issue cheques / make payments (e.g. bills) / withdraw cash
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Pay in cash / cheques
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Order cheque book / credit book
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Order a replacement debit card / PIN²
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Order a statement
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Set up / amend / cancel standing orders and direct debits
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Access phone banking²
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Access online banking³
General Power of Attorney	No
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Access to mobile banking²
General Power of Attorney	No
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Change donor's address
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Apply for ISAs
General Power of Attorney	No
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Open / close accounts on behalf of the donor
General Power of Attorney	No
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Obtain information regarding the donor's account/s
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Retrieve items from safekeeping
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Sign a mortgage loan agreement
General Power of Attorney	Yes
Enduring Power of Attorney	Yes
Lasting Power of Attorney	Yes

What an attorney can do	Arrange an overdraft
General Power of Attorney	No
Enduring Power of Attorney	No
Lasting Power of Attorney	No

¹ If the customer (donor) loses/is losing mental capacity, an Enduring Power of Attorney must be sent to the Office of the Public Guardian for registration

² If the Power of attorney appoints more than one attorney, they must be able to act separately as well as together (i.e. jointly and severally).

³ If the power appoints more than one attorney, they must be able to act separately as well as together (ie jointly and severally). In addition, only one person can access a sole account through online banking. Therefore, either one attorney or the individual they are acting for can have access to the donor's online banking, not both.

We need to comply with restrictions that are stated in the power. This may mean that your attorneys can’t access all of our services (such as phone banking, online banking, mobile banking and debit cards). It may take longer to register with us because we may need additional information.

If you’ve asked for a debit card when registering a power of attorney, details of the card and PIN will follow in the post once the power of attorney has been registered.

Attorneys may have a debit card for the donor's account as long as:

there are no restrictions to prevent this within the power
there is one named attorney or multiple attorneys who can sign jointly and severally

If you’ve already registered a power of attorney and you’re looking to order a debit card, you’ll need to complete and sign a debit card instruction form in one of our branches.

Debit cards and PINs will be sent to the cardholder’s address.

Attorneys may use phone banking to access the donor's account as long as:

there are no restrictions preventing access within the power
there is one named attorney or multiple attorneys who can sign jointly and severally

If you’ve asked to set up phone banking when registering a power of attorney, a security pack will be sent out in the post once the power of attorney is registered. Please allow for up to 10 working days.

Completing the security pack

The pack will contain both terms and conditions for using phone banking and a form to complete and return. The attorney will need to fill out the form and return it in the enclosed self-addressed envelope. When completing the form, the donor’s sort code and account number should be used followed by the attorney’s date of birth and digits from their own telephone security number.

If you haven’t received your security pack after 10 working days, please call us on 03457 404 404 and we'll send you a new pack.

Online banking

An attorney may have access to online banking once the power of attorney is registered and a telephone security number is set up.

Only one individual can have online banking access: either the donor, if mentally capable, or one named attorney.

An attorney may be given online banking access on the donor's account as long as:

there are no restrictions preventing access within the power
there's one named attorney or multiple attorneys who can sign jointly and severally

Find out more about how to get started with online banking.

Mobile banking

An attorney must be registered for phone banking and online banking to access the mobile app.

Only one individual can have mobile banking access: either the donor, if mentally capable, or one named attorney.

Already have online banking set up?

If you’re already registered for online banking, find out more about setting up mobile banking.

For a general (ordinary) power of attorney, we wouldn't usually authorise access to online or mobile banking unless the donor is physically incapacitated.

An attorney can open a new account on behalf of a donor, including savings accounts and ISAs. However, an attorney can't apply for overdraft facilities, or any types of lending such as credit cards or personal loans.

For a general (ordinary) power of attorney, you won’t be able to open a new account on behalf of the donor, including savings accounts and ISAs.

Some types of power of attorney remain valid if the donor becomes mentally incapable. Please see our About powers of attorney page to find out more. For more on mental capacity, please see our Mental capacity section.

When the donor dies, the power of attorney will be revoked immediately. This should be registered with us and then the normal process will follow.

Please visit our bereavement page to find out more.

What an attorney can do

What happens if the power of attorney document contains restrictions?

Managing the customers (donors) account with a debit card

Setting up phone banking

Setting up online or mobile banking

Opening an account on behalf of the donor

What happens if the donor becomes mentally incapable?

What to do if the customer (donor) passes away

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