Now it costs less to take out a lasting power of attorney

The increasing demand for powers of attorney have enabled the government to reduce costs.

It means the fee for applying to register a lasting power of attorney (LPA) or an enduring power of attorney (EPA) has been reduced from £110 to £82. The fee for resubmitting an LPA for registration has been cut from £55 to £41.

The fee reduction has been made possible by the high number of applications being processed by the Office of the Public Guardian, which administers the system. This has created efficiencies, which have driven down the cost of providing the service.

Ministers hope that cutting fees will encourage even more people to take out LPAs, providing peace of mind for themselves and their families.

One of the main reasons for the popularity of powers of attorney is that they offer you protection in case your health deteriorates to such a point in the future that you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself.

This is becoming more of a problem as the population ages and illnesses such as dementia become more prevalent.

Sufferers may have to rely on their families to make important decisions for them, but this can be difficult if legal arrangements have not been made in advance. Families may have to go through complicated court procedures to be granted authority to manage the sufferer’s affairs.

An LPA helps prevent these problems because it enables you to nominate someone in advance to make decisions on your behalf if you ever lose the ability to do so yourself through illnesses such as dementia.

The property and finance LPA allows you to appoint someone to look after your financial affairs and the personal welfare LPA lets you grant an attorney authority over such matters as health care and the kind of treatment you receive.

Please contact Nigel Gibson-Birch or Josie Birnie if you would like more information about Lasting Powers of Attorney.