Lasting Powers of Attorney

With the threat of Covid-19 being ever present, more and more people are looking to set up Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA). It is more important to have these in place for those who are within the most ‘at-risk’ groups or those having to shield or self-isolate, thus relying on friends and family members to act on their behalf with regard to their finances.

Unfortunately, the current timing of eight to ten weeks to get a Lasting Power of Attorney registered is not helping matters for our clients and the likelihood that this timeline will increase because of the pandemic is pretty much a certainty.

How can we help?

The best way we can help our clients would be to offer our clients a “Belt and Braces” strategy.

At the same time as taking their instruction for their Lasting Powers of Attorney, we arrange for a second ‘General (or Ordinary) Power of Attorney’, which provides the Donor with protection whilst waiting for the LPA to be registered and returned by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). This means our clients can benefit from being able to provide their Attorneys with the authority to act on their behalf immediately and urgently.

Lasting Power of Attorney – a Summary

There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA):

(a) Lasting Power of Attorney Financial Decisions; and
(b) Lasting Power of Attorney Health and Welfare.

The Lasting Power of Attorney Financial Decisions can be used by your Attorney(s) to take decisions on bank accounts, investments and holdings and regarding selling or transferring property. Importantly, the Attorney can act even if the Donor still remains mentally capable of taking decisions. It is useful therefore not only just for mental incapacity situations but also if someone is mentally capable but physically frail or unable to travel to their local bank and other financial institutions for whatever reason.

The Lasting Power of Attorney Health and Welfare can be used by your Attorney(s) only if you have lost mental capacity. It covers all decisions relating to treatment, residence and life support issues.

Both types of LPA must be registered at the Office of Public Guardian (OPG) before they can be used. Therefore it is usual for us to prepare the Lasting Power of Attorney documents and also to complete the registration process at the same time so that they are ready for use at the right time, without delay.

Lasting Power of Attorney Process

There is a two-staged process for Lasting Power of Attorney preparation and registration:

• Stage (1): Advising, taking instructions and preparation of the Lasting Power of Attorney documents. Completing the required certificate to confirm capacity.
• Stage (2): Preparing and submitting all registration documents to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and providing certified copies of the registered documents once received.

General Power of Attorney

A General Power of Attorney is also known as an Ordinary Power of Attorney.  It allows one or more person, known as the attorney(s), to make financial decisions on your client’s behalf. It is only valid while they still have the mental capacity to make their own decisions. Therefore it is limited in scope and should accompany a Lasting Power of Attorney structure to ensure that mental incapacity situations are covered.

An Ordinary Power of Attorney (or General Power of Attorney) is useful when:

• There is urgency for someone to act for a Donor for a temporary period, such as when on holiday or in hospital or currently having to self-isolate.
• The Donor is unable to get out and about to the bank or post office and want someone to be able to access their account(s) for them.
• They want someone to act for them while still having ability to overall supervise their actions.

Enduring Power of Attorney

The Enduring Power of Attorney is an older style Power of Attorney that may still be valid in respect of financial decision-making.  Since the introduction of Lasting Power of Attorney, it is no longer possible to create a new Enduring Power of Attorney.  Seek advice from us as to whether any existing Enduring Power of Attorney is still relevant or valid for your current

A Review Plan for your Wills, Trusts & LPAs