Enduring power of attorney in Northern Ireland: how it works, costs

An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) lets your parent choose one or more people to manage their money and property, and it keeps working after they lose mental capacity once it is registered with the Office of Care and Protection. There is no court fee to make one. Registration costs £189 in October 2026. An EPA covers finances only: Lasting Powers of Attorney, including health and welfare ones, are not yet available in Northern Ireland.

In short

• EPAs are made under the Enduring Powers of Attorney (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, on the form prescribed by the 1989 Regulations.
• Your parent must be 18 or over and mentally capable of understanding the EPA when they sign it. Attorneys must be 18 or over and not bankrupt.
• When the attorney believes your parent is becoming mentally incapable, they must notify your parent and at least three relatives on form EP1, then apply on form EP2 with a £189 fee.
• The Office of Care and Protection holds the application for 35 days from the last notice to allow objections, then registers it.
• Without an EPA, the family usually needs a controller appointed by the court, with fees including £326 to start, £189 on appointment and £407 or £570 a year.
• Part 5 of the Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, which provides for Lasting Powers of Attorney, has not been commenced.

What an EPA can and cannot do

An EPA covers your parent’s “property and affairs”. It can give a general authority, letting the attorney do almost anything your parent could do with their money, such as sign cheques, manage accounts, buy or sell shares and sell a house. It can also give a specific authority limited to named parts of their affairs.

Your parent can add restrictions and conditions. Common examples are:

• the attorney may not sell the house your parent lives in;
• the attorney may not act until the EPA is registered;
• a professional attorney’s charges are capped.

Unless restricted, the attorney can also use your parent’s money to benefit people your parent might be expected to provide for, and make reasonable gifts such as birthday, Christmas and wedding presents or charity donations, having regard to the size of the estate.

What an EPA cannot do:

• Decide where your parent lives. The Office of Care and Protection guidance says plainly that an attorney does not have “power over the person”.
• Make health or care decisions. No one can be given legal authority over health and welfare in Northern Ireland at present. Doctors and the Trust make those decisions in your parent’s best interests, and should consult the family.
• Make a will. If one is needed after capacity is lost, the court must be asked to approve a statutory will.
• Appoint a replacement. Only your parent, while still capable, can appoint attorneys.

If you have read about English LPAs, our guide to lasting power of attorney or deputyship explains the system in England and Wales. Very little of it applies in Northern Ireland.

How much an EPA costs

The registration fee is normally paid from your parent’s money. In cases of hardship, the Office will consider postponing the fee or waiving it. Fees can change, so check the current figure on the Department of Justice website before sending.

Most families use a solicitor, because the form must follow the prescribed wording exactly. The Office of Care and Protection does not supply blank EPA forms or give legal advice. Ask a solicitor for a fixed fee in writing.

Making an EPA: step by step

1. Choose attorneys. Almost anyone over 18 who is not bankrupt and is willing to act, including a bank or other trust corporation. There is no limit on numbers. They do not have to live in Northern Ireland, though living abroad can make some transactions harder.
2. Decide how they act. With more than one attorney, the form must say “jointly” (all must act together) or “jointly and severally” (any one can act alone). If neither is deleted, the court may treat them as joint. Joint and several is usually more practical: if a joint attorney dies, the others cannot carry on.
3. Use the prescribed form. Part A, the explanatory information, must stay attached. An EPA submitted for registration without Part A will not be registered.
4. Your parent signs first. A witness must be present. The witness cannot be an attorney and, if possible, should not be your parent’s husband or wife.
5. The attorneys sign next, each before a witness, at any time after your parent but before your parent loses capacity. Attorneys cannot witness each other’s signatures. If capacity is lost before an attorney signs, the power fails.

Unless restricted, the EPA takes effect as soon as the attorney signs. That lets an attorney help with banking while your parent is still well. If there is doubt about your parent’s capacity when the EPA is being made, the guidance advises getting a doctor’s opinion. Our article on mental capacity assessments explains how capacity is judged.

Registering the EPA

Registration is needed only when the attorney has reason to believe your parent is, or is becoming, mentally incapable of managing their affairs. From that point the attorney’s authority is very limited until registration, so apply promptly.

1. Give notice on form EP1. Hand it to your parent personally, and send it by first class post to at least three relatives.
2. Follow the order of relatives. Notice goes class by class: spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, widow or widower of a child, grandchildren, nephews and nieces (whole blood, then half blood), uncles and aunts of the whole blood, then their children. If one person in a class is notified, everyone in that class must be.
3. Apply on form EP2 to the Office of Care and Protection with the original EPA and the £189 fee. A letter is not accepted.
4. Wait 35 days. The papers are held for 35 days from the date the last EP1 was served, to allow objections.
5. Registration. If there are no objections, the EPA is stamped, sealed and returned to the attorney.

An attorney who is also a notifiable relative counts as notified. If there are fewer than three relatives in the list, say so on the application. If there is a strong reason not to notify someone, apply first on form EP3 to dispense with notice.

If someone objects, the attorney gets a copy. If it cannot be resolved, the court can hold a hearing. The court can refuse, cancel or revoke a power if it is not satisfied the attorney is acting in your parent’s best interests.

Worked example: EPA versus controllership

Patrick, 82, is a widower in Lisburn with early dementia. His daughter Aoife is his attorney under an EPA he made in 2019. He can now no longer manage his money.

• With the EPA: Aoife serves EP1 notices on Patrick and his three other children, then applies with £189. After 35 days it is registered and she can sell shares and pay care home fees.
• Without an EPA: Aoife would apply to become controller under the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, with a doctor’s certificate and character references. Court fees would be £326 to start, £189 on appointment, then £407 every year while funds are managed out of court. Over five years that is £2,550 in court fees, before the cost of the security bond every controller must take out and the annual accounts the court requires.

Where assets and income are low and there is no property to sell, the court can make a cheaper “short procedure order” instead. Even so, the gap in time and cost is the main reason to make an EPA early.

EPAs and care fees

An attorney is often the person who deals with the Trust over care.

• The Trust’s financial assessment will ask whether anyone holds a power of attorney or has been appointed controller. A registered EPA lets the attorney supply bank and pension details. See our Northern Ireland paying for care guide.
• Selling or letting your parent’s house to pay fees needs legal authority, so check the EPA does not exclude the sale. Our guide to selling a house to pay for care in Northern Ireland covers the property rules.
• An attorney must not use your parent’s money for a care home top-up if the Trust is helping with fees. Only a third party can pay. See care home top-ups in Northern Ireland.
• Large gifts made by an attorney can be treated as deprivation of capital. Read our deprivation of assets guide before moving money.

Changing or ending an EPA

While your parent is capable, they can cancel the EPA at any time, ideally by signing a deed of revocation. Once it is registered, it can only be revoked if the court confirms it. An attorney who wants to stop acting can give notice of disclaimer to your parent, or to the court if your parent has lost capacity. Attorneys are not routinely supervised. Keep clear accounts anyway, because the court can ask for them.

Mistakes to avoid

• Waiting too long. Once your parent cannot understand what an EPA is, it is too late to make one.
• Using an English LPA form. It is the wrong document in Northern Ireland. If your parent has property in England as well, get legal advice on both systems.
• Delaying registration. Acting for long on an unregistered EPA after capacity is lost is not allowed.
• Appointing a single attorney with no backup. If they die or cannot act, the EPA may be useless.
• Mixing money. Keep your parent’s funds separate from your own, and watch for scams targeting older people.

Contacting the Office of Care and Protection

The Office is part of the Family Division of the High Court, at the Royal Courts of Justice, Chichester Street, Belfast BT1 3JF. Email [email protected] or call 0300 200 7812. The guidance notes the Office does not take calls on Fridays. Staff can help with registration queries only.

In Scotland, a continuing and welfare power of attorney is used instead: see power of attorney in Scotland. For English costs, see lasting power of attorney costs.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to register an enduring power of attorney in Northern Ireland?

The Office of Care and Protection charges £189 to register an EPA on form EP2, payable to the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service. There is no court fee to make an EPA, but solicitors charge for drafting it. In cases of hardship, the Office will consider postponing or waiving the fee.

Can I get a lasting power of attorney in Northern Ireland?

No. The Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 provides for Lasting Powers of Attorney, but that part has not been brought into force. Use an Enduring Power of Attorney, which covers property and finances only. There is currently no way to appoint someone to make health and welfare decisions.

When does an enduring power of attorney need to be registered?

Only when the attorney believes the donor is, or is becoming, mentally incapable of managing their affairs. The attorney must then give notice on form EP1 to the donor and at least three relatives, and apply to the Office of Care and Protection on form EP2. Registration follows after a 35-day objection period.

Can an attorney use an EPA before it is registered?

Yes, while the donor still has capacity, unless the EPA says otherwise. It takes effect as soon as the attorney signs. Once the donor is losing capacity, the attorney’s authority becomes very limited until the EPA is registered, so registration should be applied for straight away.

What happens if there is no EPA and my parent has lost capacity?

A relative usually has to apply to the Office of Care and Protection to be appointed controller under the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986. Court fees include £326 to start, £189 on appointment and £407 a year for funds managed out of court. A security bond and annual accounts are also required.

Can an attorney decide which care home my parent goes to?

No. An EPA covers property and financial affairs only, and gives no power over where the person lives. Care decisions are made by professionals in your parent’s best interests, after consulting the family. The attorney can sign financial paperwork, pay fees and deal with the Trust’s financial assessment.

Sources

• Department of Justice: Information on Enduring Powers of Attorney, including fees
• Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service: Enduring Power of Attorney explanatory note
• Department of Justice: How to apply to become a controller, and Office of Care and Protection fees
• Department of Justice: Information about the Office of Care and Protection
• nidirect: Managing your affairs and enduring power of attorney
• Enduring Powers of Attorney (Northern Ireland) Order 1987
• Enduring Powers of Attorney Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989
• Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016
• Department of Health: Mental Capacity Act implementation

General information, not legal or financial advice. Figures for 2026/27, checked October 2026.

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 29 October 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.