Power of Attorney fee cut to £82

MSE_Sarah · 7 April 2017 at 4:50PM

The fee for registering a Lasting Power of Attorney has dropped from £110 to £82, in a move the Government hopes will encourage more people to draw up plans in case they lose mental capacity....

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'Power of Attorney fee cut to £82'

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lucys_mum · 7 April 2017 at 4:53PM

Finally something in my favour - was about to complete one this weekend :beer:

badmemory · 7 April 2017 at 5:54PM

That is so typical! I paid for both mine in February. I doubt the reduction in price would actually make much difference though. If it was from £1000 down to £100 then maybe. But this is a bit like writing a will, some people will just refuse to do it.

Pincher · 7 April 2017 at 11:28PM

That is just registering, not drawing up the LPA.

It's peanuts compared to what we actually paid the solicitor.

You need to have a Certificate Provider, who is willing to testify, by signing, that he knows the person for years, and that he/she is mentally capable, and has not been coerced into it. You can't just rope a drunk off the street to do it, because the solicitor will refuse to let it through.

Try to get everyone together for a big signing session.
Our solicitor was raking it in because we had people flying in on different days.

badmemory · 8 April 2017 at 1:14AM

I did mine myself, but my circumstances are very straight forward. My mother also did her own when she was in her 80s.

Roger1 · 8 April 2017 at 8:25AM

We have enduring powers of attorney.

When these were being withdrawn a few years ago, the advice was to hurry and set up Enduring Ps of A as the successor Lasting Ps of A were said to be less flexible/beneficial.

How do these compare now? Are our Enduring Ps of A adequate or should we think of taking out new Lasting Ps of A? We are both in our early 70s.

Thanks for advice.

Doc_N · 8 April 2017 at 8:33AM

Roger1 wrote: »

We have enduring powers of attorney.

When these were being withdrawn a few years ago, the advice was to hurry and set up Enduring Ps of A as the successor Lasting Ps of A were said to be less flexible/beneficial.

How do these compare now? Are our Enduring Ps of A adequate or should we think of taking out new Lasting Ps of A? We are both in our early 70s.

Thanks for advice.

This might help: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matters/legal-issues/powers-of-attorney/

priorslee · 8 April 2017 at 1:39PM

Good news that fees are being reduced, but VERY annoying in my parents' case as their LPA forms were sent in mid-March. If they had waited a couple of weeks it would have cost them £112 less :mad:

Has anyone seen anything about transitional arrangements for applications in the pipeline? The only comment I've managed to find is for payments made after 1 April the extra payment will be refunded.

Also, if anyone sees any mention of this prior to 21 March, please post details on here. It was discussed at 'Grand Committee' on 21 March. I'd be interrested to hear of anything earlier, ready for my conversation with the Office of Public Guardian next week.

ask66 · 8 April 2017 at 6:07PM

Pincher wrote: »

That is just registering, not drawing up the LPA.

It's peanuts compared to what we actually paid the solicitor.

You need to have a Certificate Provider, who is willing to testify, by signing, that he knows the person for years, and that he/she is mentally capable, and has not been coerced into it. You can't just rope a drunk off the street to do it, because the solicitor will refuse to let it through.

Try to get everyone together for a big signing session.
Our solicitor was raking it in because we had people flying in on different days.

Personally I would strongly suggest doing it yourself - i.e. without using a solicitor - if you know what you want to do and are good at completing forms. The government has provided very thorough guidance at https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/overview.
Why not download the forms and guidance, have a good read through them and then decide whether to go down the DIY or solicitor route. A couple of years ago it was possible to obtain an application pack free of charge through the post if you preferred - I don't know if that's still the case.

pphillips · 8 April 2017 at 11:34PM

Using a Paralegal service is a third option, which is usually much cheaper than a solicitor.

Pincher · 9 April 2017 at 9:50AM

I did a Will once myself, using whoever happened to be around as witnesses. Twenty years later, these people have disappeared, and if the Probate Office requires confirmation from these witnesses, that would be interesting, particularly as I will be deceased.
Not that it matters, as that one is superseded now.

The concept of doing it yourself is suspect, as a mentally diminished person could be robbed so easily just by a few signatures. Anybody can download the form and get an elderly person to sign.

The solicitor we used interviewed and checked the credentials of the Certificate Provider, as well as the person giving the power away, to make sure she still has capacity to do so.

If we wait a few more years, he/she may not be judged capable, and an LPA will not be legal, unless we just lie, and get it signed with somebody we pay off, which is easily done, through DIY.

Having a solicitor is a safe guard, unless the solicitor is bent, as well, of course. I passed the offices of Slater Gordon recently, the personal injuries lawyers, which does not bode well for the ethics of lawyers.

Power of Attorney fee cut to £82

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