Power of attorney costs help

daz_75

Hi all
My mum has decided to sort out power of attorney for me and my sister. She has no issues mentally but due to others in the family starting to have issues she thought it would make sense. 

I had a quick look online and it seemed straightforward enough and could be done online via the gov website for £82.50

I've since learnt shes paid £1000 to a solicitor to sort this out. This seems crazy to me, am I missing something, is there something a solicitor should be doing for this or is the £82.50 all she needs to be paying?

Thanks

AskAsk

it is easy to do online but it is preferable to do it using a solicitor to avoid any disputes later on, but yeah, you can certainly do it yourself.

i had looked into getting it done for my brother, who has mental health issues, and the solicitor quoted just under £500 to do.  that was some years ago, so £1000 does sound toppy, i would expect around £700 unless there is a bit of complication with your mother's health and mental capacity already.

Chloe_G

I just filled in the form myself to get POA for my mother and we got it witnessed.  It was quite straightforward.  Had to get the approval of my siblings but no problems there.

p00hsticks

The £82.50 is for a single POA.
There are two types, Financial & Health / Welfare, so it could be that she has had both done. 

badmemory

I did my own a few years ago. What is worrying about involving a solicitor is the restrictions put on which also need their input when being used obviously at a cost.  £1000 seems astronomical for their minimal input as all they can do is ask you the same questions that the online form asks.

badmemory

I did my own a few years ago. What is worrying about involving a solicitor is the restrictions put on which also need their input when being used obviously at a cost.  £1000 seems astronomical for their minimal input as all they can do is ask you the same questions that the online form asks.

HillStreetBlues

p00hsticks said:

The £82.50 is for a single POA.
There are two types, Financial & Health / Welfare, so it could be that she has had both done. 

Worth the OP cheeking if they can get any help with fees.

RAS

Your mum really did not need to spend that sort of money on an LPA. It's easy enough to fill in on line, signed and witnessed and posted. About £170 including postage. Money for old rope for the solicitor. 

I hope she's sort out her will, and doesn't use the same solicitor.

KxMx

I got some quotes a few years ago on behalf of a relative and the answers were £500 for each LPA+ the application fee. 
Not that I agree with the amounts, but seems standard charges for a lot of solicitors. 

Flugelhorn

I think that is about the standard amount for the 2 to be done - I knew of some people who thought it all had been done by the solictor only to find they still had to pay to get them registered (which hadn't been included in the fee) 

elsien

AskAsk said:

it is easy to do online but it is preferable to do it using a solicitor to avoid any disputes later on, but yeah, you can certainly do it yourself.

i had looked into getting it done for my brother, who has mental health issues, and the solicitor quoted just under £500 to do.  that was some years ago, so £1000 does sound toppy, i would expect around £700 unless there is a bit of complication with your mother's health and mental capacity already.

 Absolutely no need to use a solicitor unless there are existing queries around capacity, which could cause someone to question the LPA. From the OP, this is not the case here.