Lasting Power of Attorney

[lorenzo458]

My father has asked me to look into setting up LPA for Financial and Health matters for himself.

Does anyone have any experience of setting this up themselves via the gov online application?

What benefit would there be using a solicitors to complete the application on his behalf?

Anything to watch out for during the process?

[dontlookdown]

First off, good for your Dad. Doing LPA before you actually need it is one of the most helpful things you .can do for whoever is going to end up looking after you.

're DIY or solicitor, solicitor saves you time basically. We also used a solicitor for my Mum because it made her feel happier that there was an 'authority' figure involved.

Nothing really tricky about the form as I recall. Fill it in, get it witnessed and send it off to the Office of the Public Guardian.

Get a few certified copies when the LPA comes back - don't send the original to any banks etc because there is no guarantee they will send it back!

[hairy v]

As above, well done.

Form is pretty straightforward but in the end we went the soliciotr route as we wanted to get a will drawn up at the same time.

[shed driver]

I'm doing this for my father at the moment. The Office of the Public Guardian are about the only organisation to make the DVLA look efficient. It's been over 12 months trying to set it up. I made a small error with the signatures and it was returned to me to rectify which was done within two days. Because this was then caught up in a postal backlog the application timed out.

SD.

[21ATS]

Slightly unusual - however,

I used a solicitor to set this up for my partner (as we're not married this is incredibly important)

She's 49 and it was implemented earlier this year when she was no longer deemed to be able to make complex decisions and as such legally no longer had mental capacity (she has MS and a form of early onset dimentia).

My choice of using a solcitior was firstly so I didn't cock it up, and secondly so it was all seen to be above. Cost was £600.

Since it's implementation the advice that the £600 initial fee has afforded me has saved me far more than £600 in avoiding post imlempentation cock ups. Especially when it came to directorships, banks account and many important financial affairs.

There are many in things in life for which I advocate a DIY money saving route, this isn't one of them. An LPOA is such a powerful document you really need someone available to guide you through it's use if it is anything other than absolutely straight forward.

[Vasco]

Have done both types of LPA, twice (at different times) and always did it myself. It's very easy.

The most important thing is to ensure that a LPA is drawn up - it can be so essential in many situations.

[tjl]

Vasco said:

Have done both types of LPA, twice (at different times) and always did it myself. It's very easy.

The most important thing is to ensure that a LPA is drawn up - it can be so essential in many situations.

Same. Did mums ourselves in summer 2020 and had a friend of hers witness us reading back mums wishes to make sure we had recorded them properly. We’ve had to use them extensively now as mum had a turn for the worse in 2021. We’re managing all her affairs as she’s now in care home with dementia

[MrGman]

I’m currently setting a LPA up for my mother, both financial and medical, we’ve just used the forms from .gov I think if my mum wanted more detail drawn into it then a solicited might be the way to go.

[bompey]

We set up LPAs for the in-laws ourselves. You need to read the online forms carefully but it is not difficult. Unlike some legal stuff it’s all in plain English.

[PositronicRay]

Fairly straightforward, just a bit of a pita.

Do yours and you other half's whilst your at it.

[bompey]

PositronicRay said:

Fairly straightforward, just a bit of a pita.

Do yours and you other half's whilst your at it.

Agreed, we did 4 at the same time. Health and financial for MIL and FIL.

[DickyC]

My mother set one up for my brother and me for 'when the time came.' Our problem was she wouldn't hand over the reins. The way her LPA was set up was it had to be a conscious decision by her or she had to be declared mentally unfit. That might always be the case, I don't know. She went from capable to incapable to unconscious prior to dying in about a fortnight. The capable to incapable period wasn't long enough to have her assessed. The weird thing was she knew she was going and was reconciled to it. She just refused to surrender control. Legally, the situation changes at the point of death and so we started from there.

Also, my advice is, whichever way it goes for you, have plenty of Death Certificates printed by the Registrar.

[DickyC]

Forgot to say, her solicitor was unhelpful because, as they pointed out, mum was their client not us. By not assisting us to gain the power of attorney without the nod from her, they said they were carrying out her instructions.

[dontlookdown]

DickyC said:

My mother set one up for my brother and me for 'when the time came.' Our problem was she wouldn't hand over the reins. The way her LPA was set up was it had to be a conscious decision by her or she had to be declared mentally unfit. That might always be the case, I don't know. She went from capable to incapable to unconscious prior to dying in about a fortnight. The capable to incapable period wasn't long enough to have her assessed. The weird thing was she knew she was going and was reconciled to it. She just refused to surrender control. Legally, the situation changes at the point of death and so we started from there.

Also, my advice is, whichever way it goes for you, have plenty of Death Certificates printed by the Registrar.

This is basically what my Mum would have tried to do if we had not had a solicitor involved.

Because we all sat down to do it together (and because the solicitor was someone she knew who had her best interests and not just her stubbornest wishes at heart) we were able to reassure her that no-one was trying to usurp her control of her life, at least not until she was incapable of exercising it.

We just got it done in time. A few months later she was diagnosed with vascular dementia and 5 yrs later she is now in residential care.

[cheeky_chops]

Get it done.

Our next door neighbours are in 80's. They were thinking of selling to move to a small property near daughter - hes gone down hill with dementia and now he hasnt the mental capacity so they are stuck in the house til he dies basically. The daughter lives 30 miles away so its all abit stressful

[Vasco]

cheeky_chops said:

Get it done.

Our next door neighbours are in 80's. They were thinking of selling to move to a small property near daughter - hes gone down hill with dementia and now he hasnt the mental capacity so they are stuck in the house til he dies basically. The daughter lives 30 miles away so its all abit stressful

Daughter/family can still try to help, it's just more difficult. Speak to a solicitor, or Citizens Advice, there used to be a Court of Protection order which may cover the situation - if it's not exactly the same there will be something similar.

[Biggus thingus]

Get it done

Did it for the old dear in the middle of lockdown after she had a stroke and ended up in a care home

Used a local solicitor due to ease and they were really good TBH. At the time the only contact i could have with Mum was through a an open window at the top of the frame

All went smooth until the day she had to sign the paperwork and she informed me that she'd have to use her new name as she'd just got married(all in her head due to medication) and proceeded to sign a different name! Nightmare

New paperwork required and cajoled her into signing her "old" name

[hmg]

If you want to me relieved of approx £400 plus costs per LPA then go the solicitor route, otherwise the online .gov portal is very easy to do and only cost around £82 IIRC.

It’s very quick and easy to set up an LPA without involving a solicitor. I’ve done it for an aunt of mine.

[Glosphil]

I've done 4. All went without a hitch. Easy using online form.

Advantages of using a solicitor? Well, your bank account will be £400+ lighter per LPA.

[oddman]

Vasco said:

cheeky_chops said:

Get it done.

Our next door neighbours are in 80's. They were thinking of selling to move to a small property near daughter - hes gone down hill with dementia and now he hasnt the mental capacity so they are stuck in the house til he dies basically. The daughter lives 30 miles away so its all abit stressful

Daughter/family can still try to help, it's just more difficult. Speak to a solicitor, or Citizens Advice, there used to be a Court of Protection order which may cover the situation - if it's not exactly the same there will be something similar.

There still is. Once someone loses capacity, the Court can either make indicidual decisions (eg to authorise surgery) or appoint a deputy who, depending what the Court decides, has broadly similar powers to an LPA. These can be for health and welfare and/or property and affairs. This will need an examination and a form completing by a suitably qualified professional. It is more expensive and time consuming than the LPA but can be done. This needs a solicitor to make a application to the court.