Enduring Power of Attorney changes 1 Oct 2007: Act now to avoid the price hike!

hamandeggs

I contacted the Guardianship Office yesterday about the £900 and they say that they have had people on to them about this, but it is untrue.
The fee for registering an existing EPA after October is £125 (£120 until then) and the cost of registering the new LPA will be £150.

Where is this £900 coming from???

kevsam_2

Let me start by stating up front that I am a professional Estate Planner (Will Writer) - so I am not trying to hide that in any way.

If only from the issues raised previously (and without wishing to sound smug there are many more!), it is obvious that although the forms may be free to download the issue is far from simple.

Making a mistake when drafting an EPA could be very serious indeed. If they fail for any reason then in the best case scenario after 1st October you will need to arrange a Lasting Power of Attorney which will be significantly more complicated and potentially far more expensive. If the 'donor' has lost their mental capacity then someone will have to apply to become a Deputy of the Court (currently a Receiver) and I am not even going to go there - have a look at the SAGA webside for a story about this. It costs a fortune and is horribly intrusive.

In summary, I cannot stress enough the importance of taking professional advice on this issue. Most Will-Writers charge no more than about £75 to draft an EPA (sometimes even less if part of a Will package) and if you use a member of the Society of Will Writers or the Institute of Professional Will-Writers or a solicitor they will be backed by significant PI cover which, by definition, you as a lay person don't have.

Best wishes with whatever you chose to do.

Turbo_Gran

Could I add a warning about appointing a P O A,my brother (who has cadged money off my mother for years)persuaded her to appoint him her POA,she is now in a care home and is very confused most of the time. I suspect that he has used his POA to raid her bank account but there is no way I can find out as I can't get a sensible response from her.I am worried that ultimately her care fees won't be met by which time it will be too late if he has spent the lot!!! I think there should be tighter regulations on these things.

lazyoldbag

Just spoke to the Public Guardians Office as this may be important to me in a few years. They said the fees have been fixed. They are in two parts; the first £150 is for the form similar to the one now which only covers financial matters. The reason it has been changed is because there will also be a welfare form from 1st October which will also cost £150. What they said was do the existing Enduring Power of Attorney and, yes, you can register it later for the existing fee and then add on the new Power which just covers welfare if it is necessary.

Hope that helps!

cepheus

On the form, can a different person witness the donor's signature (part b) than witnesses the attorney's (in part c) ?

This would be necessary for me without travelling a long distance.

pboae

On the notes with mine it says that if the form is being signed on your behalf the same person cannot witness the donor and attorney's signatures. So I cannot see any reason why different people could not witness them otherwise.

They are all witnessed by different people on my EPA, for the same reason as you.

blondin

Please could someone clarify this as my 81 year old mother seems to think she must register with the Public Guardianship Office before the 1st October 2007. My understanding is that you print off the form from the PGO website, complete and sign it, have it witnessed by a third party (say a neighbour or friend) and then retain it somewhere safe. When you come to register it at a date unknown in the future, you will be charged £120 and not a possible £900. My wife is disabled with a brain tumour and I need to complete one with her as well so helpful advice on this would be appreciated. A yes or no answer would suffice, preferably yes! Thank you.

pboae

Blondin, yes that's right. You only need to register it if/when the donor becomes (or is becoming) mentally incapable. It can be used before that without registration (and therefore at no cost) as long as the donor is still mentally capable.

But, in your wife's case you probably need to involve a solicitor, as it could be argued that there is already a question about her mental capacity, in which case the court will reject it when you come to register it.

mamazaac

angeltoad wrote: »

If you put down more than one person, and then in the future circumstances change and you want to delete one of them, can yo do that without invalidating the form?

Bump.....?

micraman

Ive discussed this and was asked "how do you prove the forms were filled in prior to Oct 1st," do they need to be "registered" ?