Advice on creating a Lasting Power of Attorney

vonsworld

Hello

My Dad would like to create a lasting power of attorney with me as the attorney.

A solicitor in my area will typically charge £350 plus court fees for this service, which seems a lot considering it looks like a case of simple form filling. I'm sure we could arrange this ourselves, but the problem is finding someone to verify my Father has the mental capacity to make a LPA. I understand this has to be verified by my Father's GP or a solicitor and at the moment it my be difficult for him to see his GP.

Do we simply have to pay the fees and enlist a solictor or could someone give us some advice on how to reduce the costs?

Thanks

Robin

squirrelchops2

I am going through a similar process with my mother. It doesnt have to be a solicitor or GP to comment on their understanding of the LPA - it can be a neighbour or someone not within the family that has known them for at least 2 years but can sign to say they understand what they are doing and aren't being coerced into it. It isn't about making a mental capacity judgement as that would fall under the Mental Capacity Act and would need formal assessment.

tacpot12

squirrelchops2 said:

I am going through a similar process with my mother. It doesnt have to be a solicitor or GP to comment on their understanding of the LPA - it can be a neighbour or someone not within the family that has known them for at least 2 years but can sign to say they understand what they are doing and aren't being coerced into it. It isn't about making a mental capacity judgement as that would fall under the Mental Capacity Act and would need formal assessment.

It is about making a mental capacity judgment, albeit a simple one. The Certicate Provider can't sign if they don't think the person understand what they are signing. This means they have to assess the whether the donor understands the signifance and purpose of the LPA; this is assessing their mental capacity (in relation to the decision they are taking). Anyone can conduct a mental capacity assessment, banks and building societies are required to do them (and the staff get minimal training), and attorneys may need to do it regularly if the person's capacity can change (and they get no training). Please don't be afraid of making a mental capacity assessment. It's quite straightforward. 

SeniorSam

That sounds like a high fee and you would do better looking online or phoning a few solicitors to compare, It surprises me how much variation there can be on fees for the same work.

Keep_pedalling

it do it does not have to be a health professional, a neighbour he has known for a couple of years or more will do. We used our financial advisor to do ours. While you are at it get yours put in place as well.

Do you have any other siblings? It is always a good idea to have more than one attorney or a back-up attorney in case you become incapacitated yourself.

Savvy_Sue

One of our church leaders popped round one morning and spoke to each of us separately to check that we knew what we were doing. He had a series of questions to ask us to enable him to do this. Know anyone like that? 

kipsterno1

It is a very straight forward process completing the form. The obvious thing is to get names and addresses spelt correctly and sign in the correct order but there is a very good guide to follow.

When we arranged my fathers his neighbour's of ten years verified his mental capacity.  For my wife and I it was friends of over 20 years.