Common mistakes in making a Lasting Power of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows you to appoint one or more people to help you make decisions about your property, finances and welfare on your behalf when you no longer wish to or when you lack the mental capacity to do so.
There are two types of LPA:
- An LPA for property and financial affairs, which allows decisions to be made about bank accounts, money management and property; and
- An LPA for health and welfare decisions, which enables decisions to be made about health care and medical treatment.
The LPA forms must be completed correctly and the application process can seem complicated. If an error is made on the LPA, it could delay the registration process and possibly invalidate the document.
Common mistakes when preparing an LPA application include but are not limited to:-
- Incorrect personal information
All parties named in the LPA must include their full legal name, address and date of birth (not nicknames or abbreviations). This may seem obvious, but inaccurate data can render the document invalid.
- Signing and dating incorrectly
A very common mistake is to sign and date the forms in the incorrect order.
The person making the LPA (the donor) must sign first, followed by the Certificate Provider and then the attorneys. The person registering the LPA must then sign again at the end.
Signing in the wrong order will result in the application being rejected.
- Witnesses
It is best practice to use an impartial independent adult to witness the signatures on an LPA.
An attorney cannot witness the donor’s signature and vice versa as there is a conflict of interest.
If the wrong witness is used the application will be rejected.
- Incorrect information
Failure to fill out the forms correctly, such as missing out dates and/or signatures or accidentally leaving a page blank will cause it to be rejected.
It is essential to ensure that you have all the correct pages for the appropriate type of LPA. The LPA needs to be clearly printed with the pages in order. If you are applying for both LPAs then the pages need to be kept separate. If the pages are mixed up, you might have to make a new LPA and pay the fee again.
- Contradicting instructions
You must ensure that any instructions given in the LPA do not conflict.
For example, if the attorneys are appointed to act “jointly and severally”, you cannot then specify that decisions are to be made by majority vote; or where the attorney is empowered to make a certain decision, but the LPA then specifies an instruction that contradicts this.
This situation would render the LPA unworkable and therefore it would be rejected.
LPAs are important and far-reaching documents. If you are wanting to put LPAs in place or need advice either as the donor or an attorney please give us a call on 0800 2800 421 and ask to speak to a member of the Private Client Team.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer
This information is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We recommend seeking professional advice before taking any action on the information provided. If you would like to discuss your specific circumstances, please feel free to contact us on 0800 2800 421.
