Register A Lasting Power Of Attorney

In order for a Lasting Power of Attorney to be valid and be used by the Attorney it must be registered. When a Property and Affairs LPA has been successfully registered it can be used straight away. With a Health and Welfare LPA, it can only be used when it is registered and the Donor has lost their mental capacity to make decisions, has difficulty doing day to day tasks, paying bills and so on.

It is sometimes not necessary to register a Lasting Power of Attorney straight away. It might be preferable to wait until it is actually needed to be used. However in our opinion, it is often best to register the LPA as soon as possible so as to avoid delays, as it usually takes 3 months for it to be registered.

Furthermore, registering earlier means that any mistakes or errors can be identified and corrected by the Court. If there is a delay in registering and it is found that there are errors then the Donor might then no longer have the mental capacity to make a new Lasting Power of Attorney.

Currently it takes about 3 months for the Court to process a Lasting Power of Attorney application. There has to be a minimum period of 6 weeks to allow the people who the Donor has chosen to be notified to have the chance to raise any objections to it.

The rest of the registration period is spent by the Court checking the application and ensuring that the provisions contained with the Lasting Power of Attorney are acceptable and ruling out any potential problems with the contents.

There are two forms that need to be completed to register a Lasting Power of Attorney:

1. Notice of Intention to Apply (LPA 1)

2. Application Form (LPA 2).

The Donor has the option to nominate two people (these two people should know the Donor well) and these people will be notified that an application is being made to register a Lasting Power of Attorney. This notification gives the nominees an opportunity to object to the making and registering of the Lasting Power of Attorney.

A Notice of Intention to Register a Lasting Power of Attorney Form (LPA1) is used in order to complete this part of the process.

This procedure is simply a safeguard to make sure that the Donor is not being unduly influenced, pressurised or forced into signing or making the Lasting Power of Attorney against their will.

Up to five people can be told but two will have to be told. The Donor does not have to choose anyone and if they don’t then the Donor will have to appoint two people to be Certificate Providers instead of the usual one (a Certificate Provider is a professional who confirms that the Donor has complete mental capacity). Only persons over 18 can be notified.

The Court charges a fee in order to register and process the Lasting Power of Attorney. This is to cover the cost of checking, registering the Lasting Power of Attorney and resolving any errors.

Click here to see current costs and fees.

If the Attorney is paying the fee they can reclaim the fee from the Donor. We will explain the fee in our cost quote, and we do not include any hidden extras.

The Donor will not have to pay any fees if they are in receipt of any of the following benefits:

1. Income Support

2. Income Based Employment and Support Allowance

3. Income Based Job Seekers Allowance

4. Pension Guarantee Credit

5. Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit/Severe Disability Element

6. Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.

If the Donor is on a low income, on state benefits or has a low capital and savings then they may be eligible to pay a reduced fee. If the Donors gross annual income is less than £12,000, then the Donor will only have to pay 50% of the fee.

If a fee exemption or fee remission is claimed then it is necessary to provide evidence which is less than 3 months old in support such as a letter or other document clearly showing the benefit that the Donor is receiving.

In order to claim a Fee Exemption or Fee Remission then it will be necessary to complete a Fee Exemption/Remission Form called an LPA 120.

No refunds are usually given even if the application is rejected or if the Donor or their Attorney die before the registration is complete. If the application is corrected, and not rejected, then there should not be a need to pay an additional fee.

Once all the Lasting Power of Attorney forms have been completed and signed then they will need to be all sent to the Court.
It will be necessary to send off the following:

1. Lasting Power of Attorney Form

2. Application to Register Form

3. Notice of Intention to Register Forms (one for each person)

4. Registration Fee or Fee Remission Form (LPA120).

The forms will need to be sent off to the following address:
Office of the Public Guardian
PO Box 16185
Birmingham
B2 2WH

If the application to register is successful the Court will send back the original Lasting Power of Attorney endorsed with the Courts seal.