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Home Elderly Legal Advice How To Set Up Power of Attorney – A Simple Guide to LPA Forms

How To Set Up Power of Attorney – A Simple Guide to LPA Forms

Power of Attorney is important for elderly parents and relatives to set up, if they want to make sure that decisions can be made on their behalf.ย  The two main types are; Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and Ordinary Power of Attorney (OPA). We explain below the difference and you can read more about the different types in our Power of Attorney Guide.

The type of LPA that relates to property and financial affairs can be made effective immediately, or it can be set up for a later date so that it is ready in the event ofย  someone no longer able to make their own decisions.ย 

This guide will walk you through the Lasting Power of Attorney forms, including who needs to sign them and how to register them. We’re not legal experts ourselves so we have enlisted the help and expertise of Honey Legal to make sure the information on this page is correct.

This guide will walk you through the Lasting Power of Attorney forms, including who needs to sign them and how to register them.ย 

How to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney

Setting up Lasting Power of Attorney grants somebody (an ‘attorney’) the power to make certain decisions on behalf of somebody else (‘the donor’) for the rest of the donor’s life. There are 2 types of lasting power of attorney:

  • Property and Financial Affairs LPA
  • Health and Welfare LPA

The two different types of LPA need to be applied for separately. A person does not have to apply for both.

LPA forms

1. Select the attorney(s)

The first step is to choose appropriate people to name as attorneys. When choosing someone, the donor should consider if that person is trustworthy, reliable, and be able to make good decisions on their behalf. Most people select close friends or family members as their attorneys.

Discuss the appointment with the people named in the LPA form before completing the forms. Make sure that they are happy to be named as attorneys.

More than one person can be chosen as an attorney. This enables the attorneys to work together to make decisions. Having too many attorneys, however, may make it difficult for them to agree on decisions.

2. Fill in the forms for Lasting Power of Attorney

Whether submitted online or by paper, lasting power of attorney forms need to be printed off and signed.ย 

Below is a simple guide to filling in each part of the LPA form. If you need more advice Honey Legal have a free downloadable guide or can help you through the process over the phone. You might want to take legal advice as it can be confusing, time consuming and costly if you get it wrong.

Below is a simple guide to filling in each part of the LPA form. You might want to take legal advice as it can be confusing, time consuming and costly if you get it wrong.

Parts of the Lasting Power of Attorney forms

  • Part A1

    The 1st part of the form requires the donor's details. The donor needs to fill out this section themselves and sign it.

  • Part A2

    The 2nd part is for the donor to list the attorney(s) that they are looking to appoint. The order does not matter - all attorneys listed have equal power.

  • Part A3:

    The 3rd part concerns how the donor wants their attorneys to make decisions. Decisions can be made 'jointly', 'jointly and severally', or 'jointly for some decisions, jointly and severally for other decisions.' See below for more explanation.

  • Part A4

    Part 4 is optional. The donor can write down the names of any replacement attorneys. These are people that will become attorneys if one of the original attorneys named can no longer make decisions on the donor's behalf.

  • Part A5 (Health and welfare)

    Part 5 of the Health and Welfare LPA form (remember there are two separate forms) is deciding whether or not the donor gives consent for their attorneys to make decisions about life-sustaining treatment on their behalf.

  • Part A5 (Property and finance)

    Part 5 of the Property and financial affairs LPA form is whether or not the donor wants their attorneys to be able to act on their behalf as soon as the LPA is registered, or only if they do not have the mental capacity themselves.

  • Part A6

    Part 6 is optional. The donor can select up to 5 trusted people to inform about their LPA when it's ready to be registered. This is to allow these trusted people to voice any concerns about the choice of attorney to the Office of the Public Guardian.

  • Part A7:

    Part 7 is optional. The donor can use this space to outline any preferences or instructions that they feel may benefit their attorneys in the future, when the donor no longer has mental capacity.

Getting help

You can write your Power of Attorney yourself if you feel confident enough to do so. This can be done on the Gov.Uk website.

If you’d like guidance throughout the process of putting together a Power of Attorney you can seek legal advice from your lawyer or you can use a service like that provided by Which? that enables you to work from an easier template, gives you access to a specialist on the phone or via a ‘Live Chat’ on their website, and means it can be reviewed by a specialist who can make sure it is ready for application.ย 

Special Age Space Offer:ย 30% off Which? power of attorney services.

Only for March!

Go to Which?ย 

Signing the Lasting Power of Attorney forms

Once everybody has read the form, it needs to be signed by the following people, and in the following order:

Once steps 1 to 7 have been completed, the forms need to be signed. Before they can be signed, however, the donor, certificate provider and attorneys need to read Section 8 of the form. Section 8 outlines the legal rights and responsibilities of everyone involved.

  • 1 The donor
  • 2 A certificate provider
  • 3 The attorney(s)

It is essential that the lasting power of attorney forms are signed in the order listed above. If the forms are signed in a different order then the LPA will not be valid.ย 

3. Register the Lasting Power of Attorney

Once the forms are completed and registered, the trusted people identified in Part A6 of the form need to be informed of the LPA registration, using an LP3 form. If you apply online, it will automatically fill in the LP3 form for you. This is the process that allows people to voice concerns about the choice of attorneys. There is a four week waiting period during which time the trusted person or the donor will be able to raise objections if they have concerns about the choice of attorneys or whether or not the LPA should be registered at all.

If the LPA forms were filled out online, they can also be registered online. If paper forms were used, then sections B1 to B5 of the paper forms need to be completed. This includes specifying if the forms are being submitted by the donor or the attorneys, and who to send the approved LPA to.

how to register power of attorney forms

If youโ€™re using paper forms to register, you need to sign them and send them to the Office of the Public Guardian. The address is listed on the form. You need to include the original LPA form and the ยฃ82 fee, payable by cheque or card.

How to set up Ordinary Power of Attorney

Setting up an Ordinary Power of Attorney will allow somebody else to look after your financial affairs for a temporary period of time. An ordinary power of attorney is sometimes known as a General Power of Attorney.

There is not an official form that needs to be filled out in order to set up an Ordinary Power of Attorney. It does not need to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

You do still need to use particular wording in the document you write outlining your desires for the Ordinary Power of Attorney. The standard wording is as follows:

  • “This General Power of Attorney is made this day of (X) by me (donorโ€™s full name) of (address). I appoint (attorneyโ€™s full name) of (address) (joint) / (jointly / jointly and severally) to be my attorney(s) in accordance with section 10 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971.
  • โ€œSigned by me as a deed and delivered.โ€

It is advisable for the attorney to sign the document, as confirmation that they have read it and agree to be an attorney. Both parties should keep a copy of the document. It is also wise to include details of the decisions that you wish them to be able to make e.g. manage bank accounts, pay bills, sign contracts. Some financial institutions will not accept the General Power of Attorney unless it specifically names the account that they give authority over.

Setting up Power of Attorney: Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to apply for LPA?

It costs ยฃ82 to apply for a single Legal Power of Attorney.

What happens if I make a mistake on the LPA form?

Depending on the type of mistake, the Office of the Public Guardian allow you to amend it and apply again within 3 months for a fee of ยฃ41.

How long does it take to set up Lasting Power of Attorney?

It usually takes up to 20 weeks for the LPA to be registered.

Where can I download the Lasting Power of Attorney forms?

You can download the forms here from the Gov.UK website.

Can I help my relative to fill in the forms?

Yes, you can help a relative to fill in the LPA forms - as long as the donor does still have mental capacity, and is still deciding for themselves what is going in the LPA.

Can I get professional help with an LPA?

Yes and is recommended as getting an LPA right is important so that should you ever need to use it, it stands up legally. Download Honey Legal's free guide to LPA here.

Honey Legal

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