Lasting Powers of Attorney to go Digital

The government is looking to overhaul and simplify the process for setting up Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) as they are thought to be too complex to set up.

An LPA is a legal document where you give powers to another to look after your affairs should you lose physical or mental capacity.  There are 2 types of LPA: ‘Health and Welfare’ LPA and a ‘Property and Financial Affairs’ LPA.  These are set up by completing LPA forms for each and then sending them to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) which is part of the Court of Protection.

It can take up to 20 weeks for the LPA to be registered and many people make mistakes in submission meaning it takes even longer.

To simplify the process, the government is looking to make LPAs digital. There is currently a 3 month consultation period.

Comment

This is long overdue.  Much in the same way as it is easy to file our tax returns online, it will become the same for setting up LPAs and a reflection that we live in a digital world.  That said, papers based applications will still be available to those that do not have access to the internet or indeed, prefer the paper route.