How do I open a new Savings Account under a Power of Attorney?

An Attorney can open a new savings account on behalf of the Donor, as long as there are no limitations in the document preventing this. For example, the Power of Attorney may prevent the Attorney(s) acting until the Donor has lost their mental and/or physical capacity.

Opening an account

To open a new account using a Power of Attorney, we'll need the following:

• Completed application form for the account you're applying for.
• Power of Attorney application form. You can find this in our forms library.
• Original Power of Attorney document, or a copy certified on every page by a solicitor or other legal professional, using their company stamp and showing the name of the person certifying the document.
• If the Power of Attorney is an Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney, this must be a Property and Affairs Power of Attorney. We don't allow Health and Wellbeing Power of Attorney documents to be registered on savings accounts.

If the Donor and/or the Attorney(s) are not currently members of the West Brom, we will attempt to verify their identity electronically. If, we're unable to electronically identify anyone who will be connected to the account(s), we'll write and request documents to confirm identity instead.

Opening ISAs under a Power of Attorney

There are HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) rules around who can open an ISA using a Power of Attorney.

Please check the table below to ensure that the correct person opens the ISA.

Type of Power of Attorney	Circumstances	Attorney(s)
General (or Ordinary)	Where the Donor is a member of the Armed Forces posted in a warzone or is physically unable to sign the application form	✔
	Where the Donor is not a member of the Armed Forces posted in a warzone and is fully able to make the application themselves	✖
Lasting	Registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)	✔*
Enduring	Registered	✔
	Unregistered	✖

*Dependent upon any restrictions within the LPA and provided that it is broad enough to cover the opening of an ISA.

For more information on ISAs, take a look at our ISA guide.

How to send us your application

There are two ways you can send us your completed application.