Legal News | 6.08.20

Lasting Powers of Attorney: making donors and now (some) attorneys’ lives easier

The Office of the Public Guardian, the body that oversees the registration and management of Lasting Powers of Attorneys has launched a new online tool, which is set to make attorneys’ lives much easier.

The new “use a lasting power of attorney” digital tool is designed to simplify the process whereby an attorney notifies financial institutions and care providers of their appointment.

Previously, if an attorney wished to register the donor’s LPA with a bank, it would involve either visiting the bank to show a solicitor certified copy of the LPA or this official copy would have to be sent to the bank by post and then logged onto their system. This was a time consuming system, which could take several weeks to complete.

Now, for all LPAs registered on or after 17 July 2020, the attorney will access the “use a lasting power or attorney” tool (https://www.gov.uk/use-lasting-power-of-attorney) where they will be able to generate a code, which can then be passed to each financial institution with whom the donor holds accounts. Those financial institutions will then be able to use this code to access a portal where they will find a summary of the LPA and confirmation that the attorney’s appointment is valid.

While this new tool is set to ease the burden on attorneys, it is currently only good news for a select few – those who are appointed as an attorney under an LPA that was registered since 17 July 2020. The Office of the Public Guardian has indicated that it intends to extend the scope of this tool so it covers LPAs registered earlier in the year and going back to 2019; however, at the moment, there is no sign that this useful tool will be available to attorneys appointed under older LPAs.

It is be hoped that once the Office of the Public Guardian sees the success of this new system, they will extend it to older LPAs going back to 2007 when LPAs were introduced. We will of course keep you updated if and when there are further developments.

If you would like to discuss putting in place a Lasting Power of Attorney, that will benefit from this new tool, then please get in touch with your usual contact or email us via wealth@wansbroughs.com.