My replacement attorney has not received a letter from the Office of the Public Guardian - is this a problem?
“My Lasting Power of Attorney has just been registered and I have received an official letter from the OPG; my attorney has received a letter too but the replacement attorney has not – why not and is there a problem?”
I have received the question from clients, worried that something has gone wrong in the process, because their replacement attorney has not received a letter following registration of the lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). This blog explains why. I’ll start by recapping briefly on what a Lasting Power of Attorney then outline stages in LPA creation along with letters you can expect at each stage; lastly, I will answer the question at the heart of this blog.
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
A Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA, is a legal document that enables you to nominate one or more people to support you to make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf if you lose capacity to do so. Capacity can be lost through a sudden accident or ill health or a longer-term illness such as dementia. An LPA can only be created when you have capacity, by the time you need an LPA the opportunity to make one has been lost.
There are two different LPAs, one for managing finance and property and one for managing health and welfare. You can find out more about the LPAs in earlier blogs I have written.
Lasting Power of Attorney terminology:
· Donor: the person making the Lasting Power of Attorney
· Attorney: the person(s) nominated by the donor to support them to make decisions (or make decisions of their behalf)
· Replacement Attorney: the person(s) who will step into the role of attorney if the original attorneys cannot act
· Correspondent: the person to whom the Office of the Public Guardian communicate with if there are any issues with the application. The correspondent is also the person who will receive the final, validated LPA.
What are the stages in creating a Lasting Power of Attorney and what letters are received along the way?
Creating an LPA involves discussion, drafting, potential revision, signing then sending to the Office of the Public Guardian. An LPA can be made independently using forms from GOV.UK, by an LPA Consultant such as SFM or with a solicitor – whichever way the LPA is created it must be signed, (with a wet signature, not an e-signature), and all LPAs must go to the Office of the Public Guardian for formal checking and registration. I have described this process in detail in ++++ so recommend ++++ if you would like to read more about this process and timescale involved, my focus in this blog is on letters received.
Once the Office of the Public Guardian has received the LPA the pages will be scanned onto their system, along with any supporting evidence that may also have been sent (for example, evidence for reduced registration fees). The first letter you will be sent is simply a notification that the documents you sent to the OPG have been received – this may take a number of weeks.
If there are no issues with the LPA, the next letter you will receive is notification that the four-week mandatory wait period has commenced, this allows time for any objections to be raised. If there are no objections or issues, the LPA will be formally registered and the final letters sent. The donor, attorney(s) and correspondent will all receive letters of registration. The person nominated as correspondent will also be sent the complete LPA documents, these will have the words “” perforated on every page, the date and number of the LPA registration (hand written on the first page) and stamps by the OPG for any boxes that are intentionally blank.
Is there a problem if a replacement attorney has not received a formal letter from the Office of the Public Guardian on registration of a Lasting Power of Attorney?
To return now to the question at the heart of this blog; Is there a problem if a replacement attorney has not received a formal letter from the Office of the Public Guardian on registration of a Lasting Power of Attorney? Whilst it is normal practice for the donor, any attorney and the correspondent to receive letters of registration from the OPG; any replacement attorneys will not receive letters. When I enquired about this for a client, I was informed that replacement attorneys are not included as interested parties therefore do not receive letters.
This blog contributes to resource I have created from questions received about Lasting Power of Attorney and Advance Care Planning. If you have a question you would like answered, contact me .
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