Assuming responsibility for another person’s decisions is a major undertaking, and the idea of making it official can be daunting for everyone involved.
But obtaining power of attorney (POA) can make things much easier when you need to take care of a loved one, and avoid a potentially lengthy court application.
As tough as it may be to consider losing your own mental capacity or to talk about what might happen to a relative or friend, planning ahead is crucial for POA.
The documents need to be filled in and signed while the person still has the capacity to do so, and they also need to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, a process which can take up to 20 weeks.
What is lasting power of attorney?
There are two different types of POA: ordinary, and lasting. The first is for someone who still has mental capacity, but needs to temporarily sign their affairs over to someone else, for example during a hospital stay.
Lasting POA, sometimes also referred to as LPA, comes into effect once someone loses mental capacity, or chooses not to make their own decisions.
When you get lasting power of attorney, there are two different types, one for financial decisions, and one for health and care decisions.
If you are the person granting POA to someone you trust, you are known as the “donor’. If you are the one taking responsibility for someone’s affairs, you are known as the “attorney”.
The donor can restrict which types of decisions their attorney can make, or give them full decision-making power.
Anyone can make an LPA which puts a plan in place for what should happen if they ever lose mental capacity. Often, it is used when someone has dementia, mental health problems, a traumatic brain injury, or some other condition that might impair their ability to make certain decisions.
How to get lasting power of attorney
To start the process, the donor needs to choose their attorney. The language can be a little confusing here, because an attorney in this case is not a lawyer, but simply the person chosen to manage the donor’s affairs.
Anyone over 18 can be appointed as attorney. Usually, they will be someone you trust, such as a relative or friend, but they can also be a professional such as a solicitor. Whoever they are, they should have the mental capacity to make their own decisions.
You can have more than one attorney. For example, you might want to make your adult children attorneys. In this case, you have to choose whether they will each have the power to make a decision on their own, or if they all need to agree on a course of action.
Next, you and your attorney need to fill in the relevant forms. You can do this online, or download them and fill them in by hand, but either way you will need to post them. Witnesses and a “certificate provider” also need to sign the forms. The latter is a person who can confirm you are making the decision of your own free will.
On one of the forms, you can list “people to notify”. These are people other than those being made attorneys who the donor might want to inform of the situation, with the idea being that these people can act as a further safeguard to ensure the attorneys are acting in your best interest. You do not have to put anyone on this list, but if you do, you need to notify them before registering the LPA.
Once the forms are complete, you can apply to register the LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian, by posting the forms and the fee to the right address.
How much does making an LPA cost?
Each LPA registration costs £82, so if you are creating one for financial affairs and one for health and welfare, the total cost will be £164.
However, you can apply for a 50 per cent reduction if you earn less than £12,000. It is also possible to get an exemption if you receive means-tested benefits such as income support, the guarantee credit part of pension credit, and housing benefit. The full eligibility for an exemption is listed on one of the LPA forms.
You can pay online, on the phone, or by cheque.
