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Lasting power of attorney

Has anyone successfully obtained this legal power on their own just by filling in the forms on the Justice website?
My brother in law failed having paid the £130 fee and had to re-apply, paying another fee.
I have just found a website offering to complete the forms over the phone and charging £59; anyone any experience of these schemes please?
Be ALERT - The world needs more LERTS

Comments

  • loubel
    loubel Posts: 943 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    One person on their own cannot create an LPA. Is your BiL trying to grant a power to someone or is he being appointed attorney for someone else? Either way it sounds like he doesn't understand the process so he (and/or they) would be best advised to get some professional advice before proceeding any further as an LPA is a serious legal document.
  • GTG
    GTG Posts: 470 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Yes Manrow, I downloaded and completed the forms for my MIL to grant myself and my other half as attorneys. She checked through the papers signed and got a suitable witness to verify her signature.

    They were processed and the powers were granted fairly quickly and if I recall correctly within the time scales suggested on their site.

    They specifically say that another fee will be charged for applications that have to to be resubmitted owing to being incorrect.

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  • malid
    malid Posts: 360 Forumite
    manrow wrote: »
    Has anyone successfully obtained this legal power on their own just by filling in the forms on the Justice website?
    My brother in law failed having paid the £130 fee and had to re-apply, paying another fee.
    I have just found a website offering to complete the forms over the phone and charging £59; anyone any experience of these schemes please?

    I have successfully completed and registered LPAs for two separate individuals. I was one of two attorneys for both and the donors had the mental capacity and understood what they were doing but preferred to register sooner rather than later. Registration does not mean that the donor cannot carry on being involved in their own financial (or health) affairs but it does allo the attorneys to help or take responsibility should the donor want to or be incapable of doing it themselves.

    I would not consider paying anyone to fill the forms in. Just make sure you check everything - several times - before submitting them. They are not complicated however do rightly require a lot of signatures from different people - donor, attorney, witness, certificate provider etc.
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I have old style PoA for both my parents and they are still physically and mentally healthy - it is for when they are travelling and just in case so they continue to manage all their financial affairs on a day to day basis. This was done by a solicitor, IMO you really don't want to find out you have messed something up at the point you need to use the documents.
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • CWSmith
    CWSmith Posts: 451 Forumite
    I got a lasting POA when my mother developed dementia. I downloaded the forms and got on with it. It was very simple, straightforward and relatively quick. In fact, out of all the nightmare of organisation that revolved around mum's illness, getting the POA was by far the easiest bit of the whole process.
  • They were designed for many reasons, the least important of which was protecting the public. The most important was to increase employment of low level Civil Servants and to keep the Courts busy undoing the wishes of people who have tried to express their wishes through Lasting Powers of Attorney. Not to mention making it unaffordable for most ordinary folk - just the Court fees for an average couple are £520. In the good old days we would have charged £90 for a pair of Enduring Powers of Attorney which only need to be registered if mental capacity is lost. LPAs must be registered before they can be used at all.

    There are hundreds of cases where the Office of the Public Guardian has asked the Courts to prevent people from expressing their wishes properly because they haven't done it in the correct way.

    Yes, I am a professional, and 96% of our clients used to take Enduring Powers of Attorney for £45 - a paid of LPAs we now charge £350 for, plus £130 for fighting the OPG to register the documents and then of course there is another £260 Court fee. The cost for a couple is of course double that, as they both need both types of Lasting Power of Attorney - Finance and Welfare.

    If you are entitled to a discount on the Court fee, they will slow track your application. They will also make it very difficult for you to provide acceptable proof of (low) income in many cases. Some Government departments just refuse to provide proof acceptable to the Office of the Public Guardian as benefits are paid to a couple and not to an individual - so the OPG try to count the full benefit as income for EACH partner.

    And the whole system is purpose designed for crooks to manipulate - no family member needs to know that a Lasting Power of Attorney exists until the crooks have sold the house and disappeared.

    That said, they are crucial documents which everyone should have. Just make sure you get them way before they are needed (though that could be tomorrow!) and chose your attorneys with extreme care.

    Without LPAs, your spouse or family will have no control over ANYTHING - not even over joint accounts, and certainly not over where you live or if you go on the NHS Pathway to death.

    So whether you DIY or use a professional, get LPAs and don't let any interfering busybodies get involved, however good their intentions APPEAR to be. Remember your attorneys can sell your house and empty you bank accounts. You CAN delay their authority until you have lost "mental capacity" but if you have to do that you have obviously not chosen attorneys you can trust, so think again.

    If anyone tells you the Welfare LPA is not needed, google "Betty Figg" and "NHS Pathway to Death."

    End of rant!
  • malid
    malid Posts: 360 Forumite
    stevepett wrote: »
    just the Court fees for an average couple are £520. In the good old days we would have charged £90 for a pair of Enduring Powers of Attorney which only need to be registered if mental capacity is lost.



    Yes, I am a professional, and 96% of our clients used to take Enduring Powers of Attorney for £45 - a paid of LPAs we now charge £350 for, plus £130 for fighting the OPG to register the documents and then of course there is another £260 Court fee. The cost for a couple is of course double that, as they both need both types of Lasting Power of Attorney - Finance and Welfare.


    I don't understand the costs you are quoting although I see that you say that you are a professional therefore I understand that it will be more.

    The cost of doing it yourself/helping someone is as follows:

    • Downloading the forms with all the guidance - you only need to print the forms you have to submit
    here for property and financial affairs and property: http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/forms/opg/lpa-pfa-creation-pack.zip

    here for health and welfare:
    http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/forms/opg/lpa-hw-creation-pack.zip


    Depending on circumstances, you may only want to do one. Financial affairs and property was the one I did
    • The cost of registering with the office for the public guardian is £130 - nothing extra
    • take a copy so that you have something to refer to
    • Check the form thoroughly. If you have followed the simple instructions ; checked and double checked, the form will be ok
    • it will cost you a stamp to post it - I recommend recorded delivery but you're only talking a couple of quid
    I have no idea what court fees stevepett is referring to are. I have helped relatives fill these in - at their request when they have been (they still are as it happens) of sound mind. They were registered so that the attorneys could act on their behalf if needs be. Cost as above - £130 each plus postage and my time as a relative/friend for free.

    Clearly if people want to pay the extra and get solicitors to complete the forms it is their choice. I'm just pointing out that it is not necessary.

    All the information on Office for the Public Guardian and LPAs is here:
    http://www.justice.gov.uk/forms/opg/lasting-power-of-attorney
  • Court fees I quoted were exactly the same as you did - £130 per LPA.
    It really is most unwise not to do both if you can afford to.
    Google Betty Figg to find out part of the reason!
  • malid
    malid Posts: 360 Forumite
    Stevepett I am aware of the case you mention. Very distressing and thankfully very rare. Opting for one or both LPAs is something that donors/attorneys must decide for themselves clearly. I have just stated what I have done.

    Re your charges, I still don't understand this:
    "plus £130 for fighting the OPG to register the documents and then of course there is another £260 Court fee."

    As I've said, I understand that you are a professional; I am not and merely pointing out what 'lay' people can do should they chose to.
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