What is the french equivalent to a ‘lasting power of attorney’?

FRANCE OFFERS THE MANDAT DE PROTECTION FUTURE INSTEAD OF THE POWER OF ATTORNEY A British lasting power of attorney is a process whereby you name someone to make decisions for you in the

future if you become unable to do so. It involves either or both finances and property or health and welfare. The equivalent in France is the _mandat de protection future_. However there are

also two simple procedures related to bank accounts or healthcare – procuration and naming a _personne de confiance_, which you can also make use of. READ ALSO: EXPLAINER: PAYING TO SEE A

DOCTOR OR HEALTH SPECIALIST IN FRANCE A person can sign a form for their bank designating someone who can also manage their account – a procuration. Similarly, anyone going into hospital can

write a letter to the hospital designating a _personne de confiance__,_ who can help them with formalities and who will be consulted if they cannot express their wishes. This can also be

done in other contexts, such as a letter to a person’s GP. The _mandat de protection future_ is more wide-ranging and allows people to plan ahead avoiding the need for a judge to rule on

_tutelle_ or _curatelle_. _Tutelle_ and _curatelle_ are similar to the _mandat_ but are imposed should a person become incapable of taking responsibility for themselves. WHAT IS THE_ MANDAT

DE PROTECTION FUTURE_? The _mandat de protection future_ is a contract designating one or more people who you wish to take responsibility for looking after you and/or all or part of your

property, which comes into effect if your health declines to the extent that you need their help. The designated _mandataires_ apply to a _tribunal d’instance_ court, with a medical

certificate, to activate it if and when necessary. The contract states the powers conferred and can be drawn up with or without the help of a notaire. The former version confers greater

legal powers, such as the ability to sell a home. English-speaking notaires can be identified via notaires.fr. Setting up a notarised _mandat_ usually requires the presence of everyone

concerned, that is to say the elderly/incapacitated person and their intended _mandataires_ (the people who will have power of attorney). Having said that, some notaires allow _mandataires_

who live in the UK to accept their duties without coming to France, with assistance from a UK solicitor. READ ALSO: HOW TO FIND A DOCTOR IN FRANCE WHO SPEAKS GOOD ENGLISH It would be

possible, if there are significant assets both in the UK and France, to consider arranging both UK and French mechanisms as, while in principle both the UK and France recognise each other’s

arrangements, the two are most effective on their respective sides of the channel and there can be complications in making use of a British power of attorney in France. A _mandat_ has to be

set up while the person is in reasonable health and able to make their own decisions, as opposed to a relatively new procedure, habilitation familiale, which was added to the traditional

options. This is intended to be fairly simple to set up and once in place does not require any ongoing input from a judge (unlike _curatelle_ and _tutelle_). This can only be used by one or

more close family members (ascendant or descendant) or a spouse or civil partner and can either be set up conferring specific powers (not including making gifts and bequests) or general,

wide-ranging ones. It can allow for the sale of property and access to bank accounts. It is activated on request, backed by doctor’s advice and must be approved by a_ juge des tutelles_

(judge) at the _tribunal d’instance_ once he or she has checked there are no objections from other family members. It lasts up to 10 years but a judge can end it at any point in the case of

difficulties. RELATED ARTICLES: HOW TO FIND A DOCTOR OUT OF HOURS IN FRANCE EXPLAINER: FRENCH HEALTHCARE TERMS THAT ARE USEFUL TO KNOW HOW TO GET A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND CARTE VITALE IN

FRANCE