Lasting Power of Attorney - what now?

[purdycat]

Hi, we have registered for Lasting Power of Attorneys and recieved all the paperwork back from the Office of the Public Guardian saying that they have authorised everything and it has been registered, they have also sent a Notice of Registration (form LPA 004).
We are unsure of what to do now? It doesn't say in the letter that anything else needs to be done or sent of/submitted to anywhere else.
We need to inform all his utilities and we would like to change banks as the one he has now has been anything but friendly or helpful! Do we send a letter to each company explaining the situation and provide them with a photocopy of the notice, or is a phone call good enough?
Any advice? Thanks for reading

 

[stanleypj]

Hi Purdycat and welcome to TP.

People have found that different organisations have different procedures. You woud be well advised to get at least one 'certified copy' of the POA made. Solicitors can do this but will charge, so shop around. They will sign and stamp every copied page of the POA. The idea is that you hold on to the original as very difficult to replace.

Sometimes, the organisation you are dealing with will just look at your certified copy. Sometimes they will make their own copy of your copy. Sometimes they will want to send it away to head office. Try to resist this at all cost as it may well end up shredded! If they insist, get them to put in writing that it will be returned to you.

Certain categories of other people can certify BTW, including notaries and 'members of the stock exchange' - yes, really!

Feel free to post further questions. I'm a few months dowwn the line from you and things are certainly not as starightforward as they should be.

 

[nitram]

If you go to your local Job Centre Plus they will make a certified copy for free, you can use this for all DWP related purposes. Others may accept it.

Simillarly if you make an appointment with an HMRC Enquiry Centre they will copy it and inform the relavant tax office.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/enq/

 

[DragonLady]

Hi, we have registered for Lasting Power of Attorneys and recieved all the paperwork back from the Office of the Public Guardian saying that they have authorised everything and it has been registered, they have also sent a Notice of Registration (form LPA 004).
We are unsure of what to do now? It doesn't say in the letter that anything else needs to be done or sent of/submitted to anywhere else.
We need to inform all his utilities and we would like to change banks as the one he has now has been anything but friendly or helpful! Do we send a letter to each company explaining the situation and provide them with a photocopy of the notice, or is a phone call good enough?
Any advice? Thanks for reading

Hi Purdycat

LPA are a mind field, my husband and his sister have joint full power, they have been to the bank and changed everything, make an appointment tell them why as they will have someone who is allocated to dealing with LPA, ask them what they want you to bring in, with us it was photo ID utility bill, passport etc, they were really good, it took 4-7 days for the new cards and cheque book to be sent. The job centre is the best place to go to verify the LPA as its free, we took a copy to the Dr so it can be added the MIL records and they want an additional £100?? We are looking into this, you will need patience as utility companies really don't know how to handle this on the phone, they wanted to talk to MIL to verify the security questions - What!!!! We tried to explain the situation - Best of luck we are still plodding through the list

 

[Serato]

Certified Copies

The Post Office provides a Certification Service (commonly used for Passports), £7.15 for 3 items. See Postoffice.co.uk counter-services passport-identity identity-checking-service, check with the Organisation requesting the certificate that they accept this method, but probably worth having some to hand for such a low cost.

 

[stanleypj]

The Post Office provides a Certification Service (commonly used for Passports), £7.15 for 3 items. See Postoffice.co.uk counter-services passport-identity identity-checking-service, check with the Organisation requesting the certificate that they accept this method, but probably worth having some to hand for such a low cost.

Is an item a doc of any length? Ours ran to 16 pages - not unusual - so this could be very good value.

 

[Noorza]

The Post Office provides a Certification Service (commonly used for Passports), £7.15 for 3 items. See Postoffice.co.uk counter-services passport-identity identity-checking-service, check with the Organisation requesting the certificate that they accept this method, but probably worth having some to hand for such a low cost.

Thank you, this is very useful information.

 

[Serato]

Post Office ID/ Paying Utilities Query

Post Office verification: sorry I don't know whether the 16 pages will count as one document - I've used the service for ID requests Passport, Utility bill etc.

It is mentioned in this thread, and elsewhere, the problems of paying utilities. My situation is probably simpler, carer for my wife. I don't understand why Attorneys don't just pay the bills themselves + reclaim, or pay via Internet from Donors bank account they can access, pay cash/cheque via Post Office or Paypoint.
By registering for online billing you can check balance and avoid the problems associated with paper bills.

 

[Pyewacket]

Powers of Attorney

Hi

Has anyone any experience completing the application for PofA themselves. I did a Property and Affairs one for my Mother through the Solicitor a few years ago, which cost about £700. I am now considering doing one for my Sister who has a learning disability and the other one for my Mother dealing with the care side of things, but would appreciate being able to limit the costs.

Thanks for any responses

 

[bemused1]

I did both poa,s myself. The forms are endless- print at least two sets off, one to make mistakes with and a 'good' copy.

The only real problem I had was ertificate holder- solicitor and doctor were both reluctant to sign unless the other backed them up.Finly the doctor did sign.

I would recommend doing it yourself if its simple and straightforward.

 

[Noorza]

It can be done for free if doing it yourself if certain qualifying criteria are met, if someone has a low income and no savings they don't charge. I'd check that out.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/forms/opg/other-mca-forms

This has the fee remission forms to see if you could qualify.

 

[purdycat]

Thanks for all the responses, it gives me an insight into what we are up against. I expected that it would be difficult as most companies when you talk to them can't do the simplest of things, let alone sort something like this or even know what you're talking about!

To bemused1,
i filled out both LPA's myself even though everyone was telling me i needed a solicitor. It's hard to get you're head round it to start off with but once you understand it, its quite easy but very repetetive. I rang the Office of the Public Guardian before i sent off all the forms to check that i'd got all the forms and everything right and the person i spoke to was lovely and really friendly and helpful.
If you need any help with it, just ask.

Thanks again to everyone

 

[Pyewacket]

I did both poa,s myself. The forms are endless- print at least two sets off, one to make mistakes with and a 'good' copy.

The only real problem I had was ertificate holder- solicitor and doctor were both reluctant to sign unless the other backed them up.Finly the doctor did sign.

I would recommend doing it yourself if its simple and straightforward.

Thanks for that Bemused, it's given me the confidence to have a go knowing that others have done it themselves and its worked out OK...Kind regards Pyewacket

 

[Pyewacket]

It can be done for free if doing it yourself if certain qualifying criteria are met, if someone has a low income and no savings they don't charge. I'd check that out.




Thanks for that Noorza, I'll get it checked out. Kind regards Pyewacket

 

[ArfanB]

Doing it online on the new system helps cut down on errors as well.

Re need for solicitor - I think the may reason is to fully understand the document and your duties / limitations as falling foul of the same can be .. problematic at the very least.

Re certification - the OPG has stopped doing this but:

If Donor still has capacity

The donor can make certified copies of the Lasting Power of Attorney if they still have mental capacity. This can be done by copying the registered document and writing the following text at the bottom of each page:

“I certify that this is a true and complete copy of the original Lasting Power of Attorney”

The donor must then sign the bottom of each page.

However banks etc would want professional certified copies

Donor no-longer has capacity

The Powers of Attorney Act 1971 authorises solicitors to self-certify photocopies of a power of attorney, if the proper procedure is followed.

Section 3 of the 1971 Act states that the contents of an original power of attorney form can be proved by a photocopy, provided the copy has been certified on every page and at the end by the (mentally capable) donor or a solicitor. The certification must state that each page and the entire copy is a true and complete copy of the original.

The Act also allows further certified copies to be made from a certified photocopy – the original is not needed.

(source legalnotebook.co.uk/guides/managing-affairs/power-of-attorney/lasting-power-of-attorney-guidance/)

 

[nitram]

"...If Donor still has capacity

The donor can make certified copies of the Lasting Power of Attorney if they still have mental capacity. This can be done by copying the registered document and writing the following text at the bottom of each page:

“I certify that this is a true and complete copy of the original Lasting Power of Attorney”

The donor must then sign the bottom of each page..."


According to the GOV.UK site
https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney...er-of-attorney
the wording to self certify each page is

I certify that this is a true and complete copy of the original Lasting Power of Attorney.

However I have just helped a neighbour with an LPA and the letter accompanying the registered power says

I certify this is a true and complete copy of the corressponding page of the original LPA.


Which is more in line with the Power of Attorney Act
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/27

If the original consists of two or more pages, a certificate at the end of each page of the copy to the effect that it is a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original.


"...However banks etc would want professional certified copies..."

In that case what they would want and what they should accept are two different things. It would not surprise me though as in my experience some banks even fail to grasp the concept of somebody being an attorney for another who lacks capacity.

 

[Saffie]

The only real problem I had was ertificate holder- solicitor and doctor were both reluctant to sign unless the other backed them up.Finly the doctor did sign.

A neighbour can do this if you are notifying at least one other person.

 

[sue38]

However banks etc would want professional certified copies

They are not entitled to ask for this. See this guidance for people wanting to operate a bank account on behalf of another person.

 

[golfio26]

Hi

Has anyone any experience completing the application for PofA themselves. I did a Property and Affairs one for my Mother through the Solicitor a few years ago, which cost about £700. I am now considering doing one for my Sister who has a learning disability and the other one for my Mother dealing with the care side of things, but would appreciate being able to limit the costs.

Thanks for any responses

Yes my husband & I did it for my SIL 4 years ago, best thing we ever did, just read, read & re-read before you fill forms in. You may(possibily) have problem with your sister who has to go through the forms with a third party not connected with any of her financial dealings- she will have to understand & agree to you taking POA on her behalf.Much cheaper to do yourself-don't pay solicitor, takes time but well spent. Good luck.