How to Choose an Attorney for Your EPA in Ireland

Why the Choice of Attorney Matters More Than the Document

An Enduring Power of Attorney is only as good as the person you appoint. The EPA gives your attorney sweeping authority over your property, finances, and — depending on how the instrument is drafted — your personal welfare decisions. Once the EPA activates because you've lost capacity, you cannot supervise what your attorney does, change your mind about who it is, or easily revoke the arrangement.

Under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, the Decision Support Service exercises oversight, and attorneys must file annual financial reports. But the DSS isn't looking over your attorney's shoulder daily. The first line of protection is choosing the right person in the first place.

Who Can Be an Attorney

Irish law sets eligibility rules for EPA attorneys. Check the Decision Support Service's current requirements before appointing anyone. Subject to those rules, a family member, trusted friend, or professional adviser may be considered; an attorney based abroad can create practical challenges for managing Irish bank accounts, property transactions, and DSS reporting.

The Key Qualities to Look For

Trustworthiness

This sounds obvious, but it's worth being precise about what trust means here. You're not looking for someone who is generally honest — you're looking for someone who will manage your money as carefully as their own when no one is watching, make difficult medical decisions under emotional pressure, and resist the temptation to conflate their interests with yours. Think carefully about whether the person you're considering has demonstrated this kind of reliability under stress, not just in comfortable circumstances.

Practical Competence

Your attorney will need to interact with banks, solicitors, Revenue, the HSE, the DSS, and potentially Tailte Eireann (for property transfers). They'll file financial reports, make payments, manage investments, and negotiate with service providers on your behalf. Choose someone who is organised, financially literate, and comfortable navigating bureaucracy. A devoted family member who is overwhelmed by paperwork may not be the best fit, despite their good intentions.

Availability

An attorney who lives in Australia or works 80-hour weeks may struggle to attend to the ongoing administrative demands of managing your affairs. Consider proximity, time availability, and willingness to commit to what could be years of active management. Cognitive decline can be gradual — your attorney may need to manage your affairs for a decade or more.

Willingness

Never appoint someone as attorney without their explicit agreement. The EPA registration process through MyDSS requires the attorney to create a verified account and participate actively in the registration. But beyond the legal requirement, an unwilling attorney is a liability. Ask directly, explain what's involved, and give them a genuine opportunity to decline.

Sole, Joint, or Joint and Several

You can appoint one attorney or multiple attorneys. If you appoint more than one, you must specify how they act:

Sole attorney: One person handles everything. Simpler to administer, faster decisions, no coordination overhead. The risk is concentration — if that person becomes unavailable (illness, death, travel), there's no backup.

Joint attorneys: Two or more attorneys who must act together on all decisions. This provides a check on each attorney's actions — neither can act unilaterally. The downside is that it slows everything down. Every bank transaction, every bill payment, every decision requires both attorneys to agree and both to sign. If the attorneys disagree, the situation can deadlock.

Joint and several attorneys: Two or more attorneys who can act either together or independently. This provides flexibility — any one attorney can handle routine matters, while major decisions can be discussed between them. The risk is that each attorney has full, unrestricted authority individually, so the safeguard of mutual oversight is weaker.

Most solicitors recommend joint and several for practical flexibility, with a clear division of responsibilities documented in the EPA instrument or an accompanying letter of wishes. For example, one attorney might handle day-to-day finances while another manages property decisions.

Common Mistakes

Appointing a spouse as sole attorney without a backup. If both partners are of similar age, the attorney may lose capacity around the same time as the donor. Appoint a successor attorney or a younger family member as a secondary appointment.

Choosing an attorney who is also a beneficiary under the Will. This is legally permitted, but it creates a conflict of interest. An attorney who stands to inherit has a financial incentive to minimise spending on the donor's care (preserving the estate) or to make asset-transfer decisions that benefit their future inheritance. If you appoint a beneficiary as attorney, consider appointing a non-beneficiary co-attorney as a counterbalance.

Not discussing the role in advance. Some people appoint a sibling or adult child as attorney and don't have a detailed conversation about expectations, spending authority, or care preferences. When the EPA activates — often during a crisis — the attorney is left to guess. Document your preferences in the EPA instrument itself and supplement them with written guidance.

Ignoring the notice party requirement. The EPA must designate at least two notice parties, at least one of whom must be a close relative. Notice parties are notified when the EPA is registered and again when it's activated, giving them an opportunity to object if they have concerns. Choose notice parties who are independent of the attorneys and who would be willing to raise issues with the DSS if something seemed wrong.

Annual Review of Your EPA and Estate Plan

An EPA isn't a set-and-forget document. Circumstances change — attorneys move abroad, relationships break down, financial situations evolve, new family members arrive. Review your EPA (and your broader estate planning documents — Will, Advance Healthcare Directive, credit union nominations) at least annually.

Check whether:

• Your appointed attorneys are still willing and able to serve
• Your notice parties are still appropriate and contactable
• The scope of the EPA still reflects your wishes (personal welfare, property and affairs, or both)
• Your financial circumstances have changed in ways that affect how the EPA should be exercised
• Any new legal developments (the DSS framework is still relatively new and evolving) affect your arrangements

If changes are needed, you must revoke the existing EPA and register a new one — amendments to a registered EPA are not possible. This requires a new MyDSS application, new capacity and legal practitioner statements, and a new €30 registration fee.

The Ireland End-of-Life Planning Guide includes a detailed walkthrough of the MyDSS EPA registration process, a checklist for choosing and briefing your attorney, and an annual review framework for keeping your entire end-of-life plan current.

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