Power Of Attorney

[BobOfRoth 0]

Can anyone here advise me on obtaining a power of attorney please?

These are my main questions,

Is it an easy process?

Does it take long?

Is it expensive?

Anything else that may be important ?

Thank you for taking the time to read this

Bob.

 

[forgeman 18]

Hi Bob

 

There is two parts to lasting power of attorney. One for health and one for wealth. I believe it has to be and certainly better done by a solicitor who will talk you through and advise on everything as ours did.

It isn't a lengthy process with the solicitor but it has to go to London (I forget where) which can take up to 8 weeks. I would imagine cost vary from one company to another but there are mandatory costs to make it legal. Both me and my wife did ours about 18 months ago and I thin it was around £1400 for both of us and for both health and wealth. 

Hope this helps.

[petemcewan 27]

Bob ,

My partner and I took out Enduring Power of Attorney for each other.(Health and Wealth.) You need a Solicitor to do it for you.

If my memory serves me correctly it wasn't massively  expensive.

Edited March 20, 2020 by petemcewan

[EricPotts 10]

Hi it's not essential to use a solicitor, you can fill in the forms on You Gov and follow the guidance that accompanies the forms. It costs £84 per LPA. I did them for health and finances so cost £168. If you are in receipt of pension credit or on less than £12k per annum you can apply for fee exemption or remission, form for this also highlighted on You Gov.

[Annie Bynnol 611]

If you are applying  to look after the affairs of a relative cannot give consent or who has an impairment or learning difficulty the process is much more complicated and often requires a medical assessment of the person who you are applying for  and  then a submission  to Court. This takes time.

The Court may decide that no powers are needed or that the applicant is unsuitable.

Temporary orders can be issued.

Orders can be issued to third parties.

Orders can be health and or wealth and involve the stipulations of a living will.

 

The best solution is to apply early enough so that the subject of the order is capable of giving consent.

[Padders 2,842]

Just done it..

About 5 weeks ago, got a letter this week telling me I have 3 weeks to object, which seems a bit daft to me..

Anyway first thing me and my daughter did was to see a solicitor, she sorted it and we had to go back after 2 weeks to sign in front of a witness.. and that was that, bit of faffing about cus I'm a grumpy old git.. going on my experience, about 8 weeks, Its still not registered yet, but would imagine it will be when 3weeks passes and I don't object.

Cost.

£260 Including will. Taylor and Emmet Ecclesall rd.

[gene 10]

Did our own - if everything is straightforward it is easy. Also added in back up attorneys who can step forward if the first lot cannot undertake it for some reason - just in case. 

[MJ01 439]

23 hours ago, EricPotts said:

Hi it's not essential to use a solicitor, you can fill in the forms on You Gov and follow the guidance that accompanies the forms. It costs £84 per LPA. I did them for health and finances so cost £168. If you are in receipt of pension credit or on less than £12k per annum you can apply for fee exemption or remission, form for this also highlighted on You Gov.

What this guy said - just done one for my mother. Straight forward. 

[Jeffrey Shaw 89]

Replies #2-7 all deal with Lasting Power of Attorney.

But OP's enquiry seems to ask about a different topic, a (General) Power of Attorney.

This is one of the dangers of sourcing advice online.

 

BobOfRoth: please clarify which type was what you sought.

[Jomie 30]

BobOfRoth - there is an explanation of Jeffery’s points regarding Lasting Power of Attorney  here. 

 

I’ve recently been acting as an attorney with general powers. As I understand it the General Power of Attorney gives the attorney the ability to deal with things such as property, business or financial affairs. However, once the person becomes mentally incapacitated Enduring Power of Attorney will need to be applied for. This takes time because a doctor’s opinion is needed and the EPA has to be registered. The fee is circa £80.

 

I was able to manage the affairs of the person satisfactorily with just LPA for financial affairs. At the time of making it I chose not to have it for health because I did not want that responsibility. Latterly the person needed EPA and I found it problematic because at the time I had quite enough to deal with. Also, getting a doctor’s opinion then registering can take months. For this reason when I recently made a new LPA I opted to register it so it would be Enduring Power of Attorney. I did this so that my attorney would be spared the problems that I had.

 

You need to understand both and the ramifications. See a solicitor and think carefully about this. Cost wise it would maybe be circa £300  but depends on whether you register it for EPA. You can always telephone a few companies for a quote. 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Jomie

[ECCOnoob 1,017]

^^^^^ what they said.   

 

Yes it is possible to do it yourself but only if you know exactly what you want and what it will be used for.  Getting it wrong can be messy to deal with.

 

If you really are not sure leaving it to a professional is money well spent.

[Jomie 30]

BobOfRoth - you will need two attorneys so it’s important that they are people who you know are capable of working together in your best interests.  It’s tempting to save money by doing it yourself. I have just dealt with a legal matter and saved about £200 in solicitor fees but it was something that I knew could be done legally and safely. IMHO Power of Attorney is not in this category and is best done by a solicitor. When LPA needs to be used it is usually in a difficult situation and your attorneys will thank you for making things a bit easier for them.  

Edited March 23, 2020 by Jomie