The Eric Whitehead Partnership

If you have owned your property or land for a number of years (prior to December 1988 in the Staffordshire Moorlands) and there has been no change in ownership since, that property or land is likely to be unregistered at the Land Registry. Although there is no obligation on property or land owners to voluntarily register their property or land, there are several advantages of doing so, for example: The title to unregistered property or land is found in the bundle of deeds relating to the property or land in question. If those deeds are ever lost, damaged or destroyed it can cause serious problems if the owner wishes to sell the property or land. When a property or land is registered at the Land Registry, those old dusty deeds are effectively replaced by a simple document setting out a description...

By now, most people will be aware that Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) were replaced by Property and Affairs Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) in October 2007, but that any existing EPA executed before October 2007 remains valid. What many people do not realise, however, is that if an Attorney appointed under an EPA has reason to believe that the Donor (ie the person who appointed the Attorney under the EPA) has lost or is losing mental capacity then the Attorney is bound, by Law, to apply to register the EPA at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). That process involves first notifying both the Donor and the Donor’s closest relatives of the proposed application to give them all the opportunity of objecting to the registration. Once this has been done, the Attorney must make the application...