POA and where to start...
- Thread starter amdedona
- Start date
Hi
I applied for both health and wealth via the internet site ( someone will come on and tell you where to find this) I found it relatively easy and very cost effect, solictor quoted me 1000 plus, but i did it myself for approx 150 each, cant remember exactly. The guidelines are really easy to follow too. hope that helps
suz
Read this: https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/overview
It's easier than you think. You can ring the OPG to have the forms sent out to you or you can fill them in online. It comes with a lot of guidance notes but if you're not sure about something, call them, ask us or get help filling it out from Age UK, your carers centre or the CAB. You do not have to pay a solicitor hundreds of pounds just so he fills in the info you give him.
Registration per LPA costs £110. This reduces to half if the donor has less than £12,000 a year coming in and is free if the donor is on certain benefits.
Please do both financial and healthy LPAs while you're at it.
You need to decide whether there is going to be just one attorney or several, whether you want a replacement attorney and if it's more than one attorney, whether they should act jointly or jointly and severally. You need a certificate provider - best is a good friend of the donor. Think carefully about all the people you need and the people you need to notify, input their details, get the LPA signed in the correct order, then send it off to the OPG to be registered. Don't delay any of it. Remember, the donor needs to have mental capacity to sign but only needs to understand in the moment what you are signing. It's the certificate provider's job to make sure they do.
It's easier than you think. You can ring the OPG to have the forms sent out to you or you can fill them in online. It comes with a lot of guidance notes but if you're not sure about something, call them, ask us or get help filling it out from Age UK, your carers centre or the CAB. You do not have to pay a solicitor hundreds of pounds just so he fills in the info you give him.
Registration per LPA costs £110. This reduces to half if the donor has less than £12,000 a year coming in and is free if the donor is on certain benefits.
Please do both financial and healthy LPAs while you're at it.
You need to decide whether there is going to be just one attorney or several, whether you want a replacement attorney and if it's more than one attorney, whether they should act jointly or jointly and severally. You need a certificate provider - best is a good friend of the donor. Think carefully about all the people you need and the people you need to notify, input their details, get the LPA signed in the correct order, then send it off to the OPG to be registered. Don't delay any of it. Remember, the donor needs to have mental capacity to sign but only needs to understand in the moment what you are signing. It's the certificate provider's job to make sure they do.
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£1,500 is an absolute rip-off for something you can do yourself or with the free help of charities.
It is relatively clear and straightforward, at lot of people have done it all themselves, and as I said, free help is available. The most you should ever have to pay is £110 registration fee per LPA, unless the donor qualifies for reductions or exemptions. All a solicitor does is hand holding and inputting the info you need to come up with yourself anyway.
Unless you intend to add some fancy clauses have a serious look at the online DIY route
https://www.lastingpowerofattorney.service.gov.uk/home
https://www.lastingpowerofattorney.service.gov.uk/home
Solicitors fees vary across the UK. We were charged £600 for POA for both John and I and included new wills. We were advised to get Finance and Health and Welfare and to register them straight away. As our solicitor said - once they are registered they are good to go but don't need to be used until necessary.
The solicitor sent out copies to our daughters to sign and when later I wanted a codicil added to my will he didn't charge.
So either you do it yourself which doesn't seem too onerous or you phone around until you get a decent quote. The main thing is to get it registered immediately.
The solicitor sent out copies to our daughters to sign and when later I wanted a codicil added to my will he didn't charge.
So either you do it yourself which doesn't seem too onerous or you phone around until you get a decent quote. The main thing is to get it registered immediately.
This does seem the better solution
I will need to look into this and discuss it, with the donor. Thank you.
I will need to look into this and discuss it, with the donor. Thank you.
We printed both off the internet, and filled them in, got them witnessed and sent them off.
We had to pay (£50 I think)for the GP for certifying that she had capacity. However you can get people who have known them for over 2 years to do this bit.
You do need to consider carefully who should be appointed - in my mum's case myself and my brother are the only siblings and we can both act joint and severally.
What we didn't do was appoint replacement attorneys so that if one of us dies someone else can replace us, and we should have done.
As far as using a solicitor, they have an hourly charge out rate for staff at different levels, and they will spend time explaining it, making sure that all parties are happy and understand it and filling the forms for you, and registering them. The cost should be paid by the donor.
Most people pay a mechanic to change the car oil, and this is just paying for someone's time to do the work for you, with the backing of professional experience and insurance. I don't think the solicitor is deliberately trying to make a profit out of someone else's misery just providing a service.
We had to pay (£50 I think)for the GP for certifying that she had capacity. However you can get people who have known them for over 2 years to do this bit.
You do need to consider carefully who should be appointed - in my mum's case myself and my brother are the only siblings and we can both act joint and severally.
What we didn't do was appoint replacement attorneys so that if one of us dies someone else can replace us, and we should have done.
As far as using a solicitor, they have an hourly charge out rate for staff at different levels, and they will spend time explaining it, making sure that all parties are happy and understand it and filling the forms for you, and registering them. The cost should be paid by the donor.
Most people pay a mechanic to change the car oil, and this is just paying for someone's time to do the work for you, with the backing of professional experience and insurance. I don't think the solicitor is deliberately trying to make a profit out of someone else's misery just providing a service.
I agree get both. I dillied and dallied over registering the health & welfare thinking I didn't need to.... Then came the time I needed the health and welfare one and wasn't supported because it wasn't registered.
The way it's set up now, it's now simpler to do these forms yourself. Just take it slowly, read everything three times. Yes it takes time, but it's certainly cheaper than getting a solicitor to tick box on your behalf and charge an arm, leg and three fingers
Other good support like ageuk or cab can "walk" you through the forms
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Just to add, PoA seems to be a fairly straightforward thing to do yourself, but the person who is signing away their rights needs to understand what they're signing up to (even if they only understand at the time of seeing the documentation and signing). Otherwise you're looking at going through the Court of Protection for deputyship.
I've seen this said before, the law actually says
Section 3, 1 (b) of the 2005 Mental Capacity Act;
Inability to make decisions
(1)For the purposes of section 2, a person is unable to make a decision for himself if he is unable—
(a) to understand the information relevant to the decision,
(b) to retain that information,"
(3) The fact that a person is able to retain the information relevant to a decision for a short period only does not prevent him from being regarded as able to make the decision.
In the admittedly unlikely event someone did challenge a POA (and families can be strange things) they are required to be able to "retain" the information too in law, although there is no stipulation as to how long for exactly.
K
Easy DIY
Do it yourself online it is very easy. I kept putting it off but people on here said how easy it was and they were right. My mums GP asked for £200 for a capacity assessment! This is not necessary. I got a friend of my mum who had known her for a long time to sign the declaration.
Do it yourself online it is very easy. I kept putting it off but people on here said how easy it was and they were right. My mums GP asked for £200 for a capacity assessment! This is not necessary. I got a friend of my mum who had known her for a long time to sign the declaration.
I used a solicitor to do POA for finances and health and the solicitor advised me to do both for me as well as OH would not be able to do anything for me if I became ill. I probably could have managed them myself but felt it was one less worry if the solicitor did them and also less likely to get challenged - sadly you never know! We re did our wills as well at the same time.
Solicitor also advised to register them straight away and I am glad we did all this pretty soon after the diagnosis as I don't think we could do them now due to deterioration and I am pleased we registered them as I have used the finance one for the AA claim.
Solicitor also advised to register them straight away and I am glad we did all this pretty soon after the diagnosis as I don't think we could do them now due to deterioration and I am pleased we registered them as I have used the finance one for the AA claim.
Slightly under £400 here.
I'm having to remind myself repeatedly that there is NOTHING in it for me (and that it really doesn't matter if someone else believes otherwise) to get legal matters sorted out for my mother's benefit having been made to feel I'm up to something for doing so. I'd understand it if it were mum as wouldn't be able to help it. Jumping through a million hoops to do these things is hard enough without being made to feel bad. A good lawyer was essential.
I'm having to remind myself repeatedly that there is NOTHING in it for me (and that it really doesn't matter if someone else believes otherwise) to get legal matters sorted out for my mother's benefit having been made to feel I'm up to something for doing so. I'd understand it if it were mum as wouldn't be able to help it. Jumping through a million hoops to do these things is hard enough without being made to feel bad. A good lawyer was essential.
