Formerly known as
Lasting Power of Attorney lets you appoint people to make decisions on your behalf when you no longer have the mental capacity to do so for yourself.
This guide will help you:
Mental capacity is defined in the Mental Capacity Act 2005. To put it simply having mental capacity means that when you are making a decision you understand the following:
You should be able to communicate a decision through speech, signs or in other ways. If someone doesn’t have mental capacity then they won’t be able to make an LPA. Instead they’ll have to apply to the courts to be able to help make decisions on their behalf. It’s for this reason we believe everyone should have an LPA sorted earlier rather than later.
There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney documents; one for decisions about your health and welfare, the other for financial decisions.
Health and welfare LPA is used for making decisions about things like:
Financial and Property LPA which is used for making decisions about things like:
We believe that everyone needs a Lasting Power of Attorney. It’s impossible to know when you might need it but it’s essential in the case that you were to lose mental capacity. It can be more important the older you are as illnesses such as dementia become a bigger risk.
If you need to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney there are several ways to do so. The primary way of getting your LPA is to do so online. Whilst it’s possible to get set up through a solicitor, the LPA documents can be very expensive when done this way. However, not everyone will be comfortable filling the legal document in themselves - unfortunately it’s full of jargon and can be very confusing if you don’t know what you’re doing. The guidelines for filling in the form are tedious and laborious to look through. If you get it wrong, you’ll need to complete the process again.
As mentioned, many of us don’t understand the Lasting Power of Attorney jargon and the application process. The forms appear to be quite complex and can be time consuming to fill in. There are various ways of getting help to sort them, with different costs associated.
Typically there are two main charges when doing your Lasting Power of Attorney documents. You often have to pay for the documents to be prepared and then on top of this there is a government registration charge.
When you’ve completed your Lasting Power of Attorney you have to register it with the Office of the Public Guardian. This can take 8 to 10 weeks, as long as there are no mistakes.
It costs £82 to register each LPA with the government. So for both documents it will cost £164 in total. The OPG can take payment by credit or debit card and even cheque.
You might be exempt from this fee!
If you earn less that £12,000 or are on certain benefits you will be able to apply for a reduction. There is more information about this here.
If you registered your LPA between 2013 and 2017 you might be able to get a refund. This page explains this process in full and how much you might be able to claim.
Typically the only other cost you will need to pay associated with LPAs is the fee for preparing the documents themselves. This can be quite expensive and avoiding excessive fees here is where we come in!
No you don’t need a solicitor to make an LPA.
Solicitors can charge up to £1000 with typical charges ranging from £300-£600 per document.
Our simple and easy to use product allows you to understand and complete your LPA in no time. By removing the hassle of organising and completing your document with a local provider, we are much more affordable.
Both documents only cost £120.
Of course it’s possible to complete your own form on your own - you’d just need to print it out and fill it in. This is free to do through the government website. However paying for your documents through us can give you peace of mind and simplify the process.
Get in touch with us to find out more!
