Legal News | 27.07.23

Report changes of circumstances to the Office of the Public Guardian

If you have been appointed an attorney under a lasting power of attorney (“LPA”) for health and welfare or property and financial affairs, you may think the Office of the Public Guardian’s involvement ends once it registers the LPA; however, there are certain changes of circumstances that you need to report to the Office of the Public Guardian.

The changes of circumstances you need to report to the Office of the Public Guardian are if:

• you or the donor (the person who made the LPAs) change name or address;
• the donor, or another attorney, dies;
• you start acting as a replacement attorney (because one of the donor’s original attorneys can no longer act); and
• you choose to stop acting as an attorney.

Depending on the change of circumstances being reported, you may need to send the original LPAs and/or supporting evidence to the Office of the Public Guardian.

Depending on the change of circumstances being reported, the Office of the Public Guardian will either update the LPAs and return them to you or cancel the LPAs and destroy them.