LPAuk.co.uk: Lasting Power of Attorney 01323 766766

Make a Lasting Power of Attorney

Better still, make TWO Lasting Powers of Attorney!

As explained HERE, everyone should have two. In terms of levels of advice, there are three:

  • Advise yourself – DIY. Overall, 124 pages, 66 of instructions the rest the forms for you to complete..
  • Professional Form filling – you fill in a form, and they type it out for you, and maybe check that it has been correctly completed. Advice is not usually forthcoming – you might get GUIDANCE, which is not at all the same thing. But the fees are usually modest (but some are far from it!) But why would you want to pay professional fees for copy typing?
  • Full Advice Service. This is the way I do it. Obviously, I need a fair bit of information from you, but we will then discuss the issues, make you aware of any gaps in the thoughts you have. We then build in suitable guidance and, where needed, instructions, to maximise both opportunities and protection. Even so, some form fillers charge more than I do for a full advice service. Lasting Power of Attorney Prices at the foot of this page.

How to make Lasting Powers of Attorney? UK – England and Wales.

  • Consider who you would trust to look after your finances.
  • Consider who would handle and Health and Welfare issues in a way which agrees with your principles – and you may have different attorneys for each type of LPA.
  • Get their agreement to act and confirm that you have the full details needed to complete the documents. These days I prefer to check directly as around 25% of the details sent in by clients are incomplete or even wrong, which can make an LPA unusable even after registration.
  • Look at any preference you would have in each type of PoA.
  • Consider any specific instructions you might wish to give, but bear in mind many are not considered acceptable.
  • Either instruct a professional such as myself or a solicitor who may or may not be a specialist – it is not that complicated to fill in the basic forms. But is is the conversation and the advice which makes the difference between an LPA and a really useful and versatile Lasting Power of Attorney.
  • Once complete, it is important to register them with the Office of the Public Guardian. Why? because they can’t be used until they have been registered AND if yours is incorrect in any way, it will not only get rejected, but is can easily take more than 3 months to get a replacement through the system, and you can only do that if you have full mental capacity. That means you might end up in the clutches of the expensive Court of Protection where you will almost certainly need full professional support and still may get a professional attorney rather than the ones you would have chosen.