We understand there may be times when you want, or need, someone to help you manage your account(s).
To choose the right type of third party authority, you’ll need to decide which option is best for you now and in the future.
A Third Party Mandate is a temporary agreement between you and someone you trust. This could be a family member, friend or regular support worker.
It allows restricted access or control over your accounts. For example:
No. You need to be able to make your own decisions for the mandate to work.
If that happens, your representative needs to let us know immediately. We’ll block access to your account, until a valid alternative authority is set up on the account.
That’s because the Third Party Mandate won’t be valid anymore, and we can’t follow instructions from someone who isn’t able to make decisions.
If you decide that a Third Party Mandate is the right option for you, follow the instructions below:
You can visit our Mortgage help centre for details.
A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document that lets you appoint someone you trust (called an attorney) to act on your behalf. This can include looking after your Bank of Ireland UK mortgage, your savings or current accounts, paying bills, or handling other financial matters.
Only POAs created and/or registered in Northern Ireland (NI) are legally valid in NI. This means, POAs from the Republic of Ireland, England and Wales (including Lasting Power of Attorney’s), or Scotland are not accepted in NI because they are not recognised under NI law.
The type of Power of Attorney (POA) you have decides what your representative can do and whether we can still take instructions from you as the account holder.
The main types of POA recognised in NI are:
Becomes invalid if the donor loses mental capacity.
At this point the account becomes blocked until an alternative authority is set up.
If the donor loses mental capacity, the EPA will need to be registered with the Office of Care and Protection (OCP).
Once registered, the EPA will continue until it is revoked or the donor dies.
Both the donor and attorney can operate the account(s).
We apply some restrictions about what the attorney can do without the donor’s consent.
Operates in a similar way to a General POA.
However, we’ll need to check the ‘specified powers’ to make sure we can follow them properly.
Only valid where the donor has mental capacity.
However, we’ll need to check any ‘restrictions’ or ‘conditions’ to make sure we can follow them properly.
Only valid when the donor has lost mental capacity.
Subject to any restrictions or conditions specified in the EPA, the attorney has the same powers as the account holder when they had mental capacity.
You can find out more information at:
If you choose to use a Power of Attorney, you’ll need to create one first. Once it’s ready, follow the instructions below to add it to your account(s):
You can visit our Mortgage help centre for details.
A Controllership Order is a legal arrangement that allows someone (the Controller) to manage the financial affairs of a person (the Patient) who:
It is created when an individual (the Patient) loses the ability to make decisions and does not already have an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) in place.
Subject to any restrictions or conditions specified in the Controllership Order, the Controller has the same powers as the account holder when they had mental capacity.
You can find out more information at:
If a Controllership Order is the right choice, it will need to be created first. Once it’s ready, follow the instructions below to add it to your account(s):
An Appointeeship lets someone you trust (your Appointee) manage your state benefits or pension payments if you are unable to do so yourself. The BF57 form gives your Appointee the authority to do this.
To check if an Appointeeship can be set up on your NI Savings or Current account(s), call us on 0345 6016 157 or visit your local branch.
More information is available from:
NI current accounts – 0345 6016 157
NI savings accounts – 0345 6016 157
NI mortgages – 0345 300 8000
You can find the address of your nearest Bank of Ireland Branch here.
