A LPA in respect of your property and affairs enables you to appoint attorneys to make a range of decisions on your behalf including:

• Dealing with investments and shareholdings
• Buying and selling properties
• Dealing with your tax affairs
• Claiming any benefit entitlements
• Operating bank and building society accounts.

Health &Welfare LPA

A Health and Welfare LPA enables you to appoint attorneys to make a range of decisions on your behalf including:

• Consenting to or refusing medical treatment on your behalf
• Making decisions relating to your living accommodation and care
• Dealing with day to day welfare issues such as your dietary needs.

Registering the LPA

You can impose restrictions or provide guidance as to how your attorneys should act. Any guidance or restrictions need to be thought through carefully.  If in doubt, speak to a trained advisor before imposing any restrictions on your attorneys. Once the LPA has been signed by you (and before it is signed by your attorneys) a Certificate Provider must sign to confirm that you understand the powers that you are granting to your attorneys and that there is no undue pressure being exerted on you to make the LPA. A Certificate Provider must be someone who has known you well for more than two years or, alternatively, a professional person such as a solicitor or doctor.  No LPA may be used before it has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). The OPG charge a fee for dealing with the registration of these documents, currently £130.00 per document.  It is advised that you notify at least one person of your intention to make an application to register the LPA and details of the person to be notified will need to be included in the LPA document. You may choose not to notify any person of your intention to register an LPA but you will then need to ensure that you have two Certificate Providers who are prepared to sign the document. These requirements are put in place to prevent any potential financial abuse by an attorney under an LPA.  Once registered, a Property & Affairs LPA can be used even though you may retain mental capacity (if you choose to allow this) and can continue to be used once capacity is lost. A Health &Welfare LPA may only be used by your attorneys when you no longer have the capacity to make care and treatment decisions yourself.  In the event that all of the requirements have not been met, or there has been an error in the drafting of the documents, the OPG may refuse to register an LPA or where possible return it for amendments to be made. For this reason we recommend that professional advice is taken when preparing an LPA and that LPAs are registered as soon as possible after they are completed. Any necessary amendments can then be made whilst the donor has capacity to re-sign if required.  A database in maintained by the Court of all registered LPAs which can be searched on payment of a fee. The OPG also act as the body to whom anyone with a concern about financial abuse or the actions of attorneys should contact.

How can we help you?

We will guide you through the whole process from taking your initial instructions, completing the documentation, informing the notifiable party of the intention to register an LPA, through to dealing with the Court throughout the registration process.  We can advise you on all aspects of the drafting, creation and registration of LPAs. We are also able to give advice to attorneys in respect of their duties once appointed. If required we can act as your Certificate Providers and, in the event that you do not have any immediate family you wish to appoint, you can choose to appoint one or more of the partners of the firm as your attorneys.

For further information contact:
Helen Bunker helen.bunker@pswlaw.co.uk or
Ruth O’Neill ruth.oneill@pswlaw.co.uk