What information will I need to complete an LPA?

Before completing an LPA, you will need to have the following information prepared:

Details of the ‘donor’

This is the person, probably elderly or disabled, who wishes to appoint one or more people to manage his or her affairs.

If he or she has already lost mental capacity and is unable to make decisions, you cannot proceed.

If the donor is still able to make decisions, you may complete this questionnaire on the donor’s behalf. You must provide the donor’s FULL NAME (including any middle names), address and date of birth.

Details of the ‘attorney(s)’

The donor may appoint a minimum of ONE and a maximum of FOUR ‘attorneys’.

These are the people who will be able to manage the donor’s affairs if he or she is unable to do so for himself or herself.

Anyone over 18 can act as an attorney, except a declared bankrupt.

You must provide the FULL NAME (including any middle names), address and date of birth of each attorney.

Details of any ‘replacement attorney(s)’

The donor may appoint ‘replacement attorneys’, who would be able to stand in for an attorney who became unable to act. This is usually only necessary if a single attorney has been appointed. Again, full name, address and date of birth are required.

Details of the ‘certificate provider’

This is the person who certifies that the donor is capable of understanding the implications of making Lasting Power of Attorney and is appointing the attorney(s) of his or her own free will and is not being unduly influenced or pressured.

The certificate provider cannot be an attorney, nor the spouse or partner of an attorney, and should not be a family member.

It must be someone who has known the donor for at least two years, usually a friend or neighbour.

If the donor is living in a care home, neither the manager nor any employee of the care home may act as the certificate provider.

After signing his or her name, the certificate provider plays no further part.

Other information you must have ready

1. If more than one attorney is appointed, will they act JOINTLY (in which case, they must always be together when required to act, for example, in visiting the bank) or JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY (in which case they may act jointly, but they can also act separately)? JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY is generally considered to be the best choice.
2. Who will receive correspondence? Does the donor wish to receive correspondence relating to the Lasting Power of Attorney, or should this be sent to an attorney, or someone else?
3. Who is the ‘applicant’? When the completed forms have been sent to the Office of the Public Guardian to be registered, they will contact the ‘applicant’ in order to collect the registration fee (if applicable). Will the applicant be the donor or an attorney?
4. If the donor’s annual income is more than £12,000 gross, he or she will pay a registration fee of £82 for each individual application. If his or her total income is less than £12,000 the registration fee is reduced to £41 for each Lasting Power of Attorney. If the donor is in receipt of certain means-tested state benefits, he or she will be exempt from the registration fee; (please click on Registration Fees for full details).
5. Does the donor want Lasting Power of Attorney ONLY for Property & Financial Affairs, or ONLY for Health & Welfare, or both?
6. If the donor requires LPA for Property & Financial Affairs, does he or she want this to take effect immediately after registration, or only if and when he or she loses mental capacity? (PLEASE NOTE: In the case of Health & Welfare, this can only take effect if the donor loses mental capacity).