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

sva14

We are husand and wife and 1 child.

We considering making each other the attorney on these forms, so for mine it will be my wife and vice versa.

So fill in 2 Enduring Power of Attorney forms. Does this sound right, i.e we just giving our spouses power and not anything else? Is there anything else I should be aware of.

Also Like to know answe to MICROMAN question yesterday, how can one prove that the forms were signed before 1 oct 2007, if they don't need to be registered but just kept safe at home?

Thanks

Mojisola

When you fill in the forms and sign them, there is a place to put the date.

Of course, the donor, attorneys and the people who witness the signatures could all collude and fill them in after 1st October but it is a legal document and it would cause problems in the future if any of them admitted what had happened.

sva14

hamandeggs wrote: »

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???

Hi i have just called the Guardianship Office and they have confirmed to me the EPA is £120, and the New LPA will cost £150 to register. also you only need to register when you need to use it, so can complete the forms which are free and keep safe. There is no mention of £900 so where has it come from other than MSE Martin's Money Tips E-mail ?

I was going to get an EPA done ASAP to avoid the £900 for the LPA, but as it not £900 but only £150 and LPA covers more issues, I will get that made instead? Do others agree with me?

Biggles

satish98 wrote: »

Hi i have just called the Guardianship Office and they have confirmed to me the EPA is £120, and the New LPA will cost £150 to register. also you only need to register when you need to use it, so can complete the forms which are free and keep safe. There is no mention of £900 so where has it come from other than MSE Martin's Money Tips E-mail ?

I was going to get an EPA done ASAP to avoid the £900 for the LPA, but as it not £900 but only £150 and LPA covers more issues, I will get that made instead? Do others agree with me?

I've seen higher figures quoted elsewhere long before Martin's email. I think the reasoning has been that the EPA is a straightforward document, free to download and complete, whereas the LPA is a far more complex document, which most people would probably not contemplate completing without the advice of a solicitor. I think that's where the bulk of these figures come from. The Public Guardianship Office can only confirm their own fees, not associated costs.

The way I look at it is this: the EPA can be done now, free. When I get time for a good look at the LPA some time in the future, I might decide to leave the EPA in place. If, on the other hand, I then want to go with the LPA, then I've lost nothing. If I don't do the EPA now, and I didn't like the looks of the LPA, I would no longer have that choice.

Adrian_Prescott

Hi,

from the Public Guardian's Office website I have downloaded forms EP2PG - Application for Registration of an Enduring Power of Attorney (together with guidance notes), and EP1PG - Mental Capacity Act 2005 Enduring Power of Attorney.

Having read people's comments on this forum, I'm aware that I must get these forms signed, dated and witnessed in the next couple of days.

Nowhere on the form (nor in the notes) can I see where I am supposed to get the forms witnessed. This leads me to think that I have the wrong forms. Please would someone let me know exactly which forms I need to get signed, dated and witnessed, and whether the forms explicitly provide a section for doing this? A link to the forms would be even better.

Also, if during the period between filling out the forms now, and actually needing to use the forms (in the event of mental incapacity of myself or my wife) we were to move house, making the address on the forms incorrect, would this render them unuseable? Is there a means for changing the address without having to enter the new system of using a Lasting Power of Attorney, with all its associated complications and costs?

Many thanks in advance to anyone who can provide me with a full and speedy reply!

All the best

Adrian :huh:

Biggles

The form you must get signed, dated and witnessed is the EPA form itself. Don't worry about the registration forms at the moment, that only becomes necessary if the donor loses mental capacity.

The only form you need is here:-
http://www.guardianship.gov.uk/downloads/Make_An_EPA.Web.pdf

A subsequent change of address is not a problem. After registration (ie some years in the future) you may be required to keep the Public Guardianship Office advised of address changes, but not before.

Biggles

BTW, onto the EPA threads on the Savings & Investments board and the Silver Savers board, I have tacked a post giving more information about the new LPA, which takes effect on 1 October.

The basic (Property & Welfare) LPA is not as bad as had been feared, so if you fail to get the 'old' form completed before Monday, all is not lost.

Adrian_Prescott

Biggles, you're a lifesaver. Thanks so much for the quick and full reply I was looking for. I'm very grateful.

Adrian

Millycent

For anyone struggling to complete the EPA form by Sunday's deadline, there is a free service at s-o-r-t-e-d.com that has just launched (not yet showing up on google). Admittedly the forms themselves are not that complicated and certainly no-one should be wasting money on lawyers' fees or paying for the blank forms (as some unscrupulous souls would have us do). Sorted! guide you through a simple questionnaire and then automatically generate the EPA for you (although they limit its use only to situations where you become mentally incapable - quite sensible really and the whole point of the "enduring" in EPA). If anyone wants to grant a power of attorney to someone before they become mentally incapable, you can always do that with an ordinary power of attorney (and don't need an EPA or LPA).

Best of luck everyone!

Biggles

Is that your site, Millycent? It seems to be dead at the moment, but it just seems odd that a site with a single purpose (at the moment, anyway) is devised just before the reason for devising it is abolished?

In case anyone's confused about your last couple of sentences, they should be clear that an EPA can ONLY be made by someone who is still mentally capable at the time.

The Ordinary Power of Attorney is mainly used for specific reasons, on a temporary basis, and would terminate if the donor became mentally incapable.