Lasting Power of Attorney - activation key

bob808

Hi - my wife and I Lasting Power of Attorneys has been registered.
In letters from OPG confirming registration they have given me an activation key to add the LPA to online account, both my LPA as donor, and my wife's as attorney.
When do I use the activation key? We don't want to 'activate' the LPAs - i.e. we don't need to get the other to make decisions for us presently.

elsien

My brother set up his power-of-attorney so that it can be used while he still has capacity, because he had some serious health issues which could’ve put him as physically out of action for a while.
So we set up the power-of-attorney with his bank with the aim that it’s there for me to use if I want to, but I’m not going to touch it unless I absolutely have to. About to do the same with parent’s.  Just  because it’s activated it doesn’t mean you have to use it. So I have access to online banking if needed (which he doesn’t because he doesn’t bank online), but in an emergency, it’s all set up and ready to go. 

dnpark38

I'm just in the process of registering  the PLA my wife gave to me in order to be able to get an Access code to give to the DWP for them to be able to see the PLA to know I hold the PLA. ( The registration code on the covering letter with the PLA as expired).
This activation code mentioned in your OP what is this, please, is it something else I need to do?

p00hsticks

I can't remember if there is an expiry date to the activation code ? In which case I'd use it straight away. From memory all the activation code is doing is allowing you to set up the online account, so that in future you can use it to share details of the PoA with other parties as and when required. 

ProcessMatters

Just to separate out the terminology, as it often causes confusion:

The LPA is already registered — that’s what makes it legally valid. Using the activation key simply lets you link it to an online account so you can share proof of the LPA with organisations (banks, DWP, etc) if and when needed.

Using the activation key doesn’t “switch on” decision-making or take capacity away from the donor. For Property & Financial Affairs LPAs in particular, attorneys can act with the donor’s consent while they still have capacity, or not act at all until needed.

So setting up online access now is really about being prepared, not about starting to use the powers.

dnpark38

Thanks, looks like I got the wrong word.  What I'm at present doing then is the Activation.

RedFraggle

There's a 6 month limit on the activation key.