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Power of Attorney
Once you have registered your Lasting Power of Attorney, there may come a time when your circumstances have changed and you want to alter the appointment of your Attorneys, or how they can act. Our Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors in Lancaster discuss what steps you will need to take to amend your legal Lasting Power of Attorney documents. 

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What are Lasting Powers of Attorney? 

As our Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors in Preston have discussed before in their previous blogs, Lasting Powers of Attorney are legal documents which allow a person (known as the donor) to appoint at least one other person (known as the Attorney, or Attorneys, if there is more than one) to make decisions on their behalf, should they no longer have capacity themselves (or, in the case of the Financial Decisions Lasting Power of Attorney, to deal with financial matters on their behalf, at their direction, if they have capacity, as well as if they do not have capacity). 
 
There are two types of Lasting Powers of Attorney: one relating to financial decisions, and the other relating to health and care decisions. You can read more about the differences between these two Lasting Powers of Attorney, here

Who can make a Lasting Power of Attorney? 

Providing that they have the mental capacity to make the Lasting Powers of Attorney, anyone who is over the age of 18 and would require these documents in England or Wales can make either one, or both, Lasting Power of Attorney. 

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Who do I appoint as Attorneys? 

You can choose who you want to appoint as your Attorneys. It could be a friend or a family member, or you may decide to appoint a professional, such as a member of our Wills, Trusts and Probate department (based in either Longridge, Garstang or Lancaster). 
 
Generally, as long as the individual is over the age of 18 and has capacity themselves, you can appoint them. However, there are some things to consider when deciding who to appoint:- 
 
1) If the person that you are appointing as your attorney has an undischarged bankruptcy or they are subject to a debt relief order, they cannot act as your Attorney for property and financial affairs (although this would not affect whether they act as your attorney for health and welfare decisions). 
 
2) If the person that you are appointing as attorney is on the Disclosure and Barring Service’s barred list, they cannot act as an attorney, unless they are a family member, and they are not getting paid to act as your attorney. 
 
3) If the person that you are appointing lives in another country, they may find it difficult to make decisions about you solely on their own, so you may wish to appoint them alongside another attorney, or not appoint them at all. 
 
The gov.uk website provides some helpful information about attorneys, which you can find, here

How many Attorneys should I appoint? 

If you decide only to appoint one Attorney, if they are unable or unwilling to act at any point in the future, it would mean that there are no attorneys appointed under your Lasting Power of Attorney, and therefore the document would be void. 
 
Our Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors in Lancaster would therefore always suggest appointing at least two attorneys, so that if one of them is unable to act, the other could still act (depending how they are appointed, which you can read about more in our blog, here, under the section ‘Attorneys’. 

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When does a Lasting Power of Attorney become final? 

Once the document has been submitted to the Office of the Public Guardian for registration (which is after the donor, the certificate provider and the attorneys have all signed), it can only be amended in some limited circumstances and it must never be amended by hand. Our Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors in Preston have answered some FAQs about Lasting Powers of Attorney amendment, below. 

Can I remove one of my Attorneys? 

It is possible to remove one or more of your Attorneys by making a written statement called a ‘partial deed of revocation’. The full wording required for the partial deed of revocation can be found on gov.uk, here, however, essentially, it states as follows:- 
 
1. That the Donor made a Lasting Power of Attorney for either financial decisions or health and welfare decisions, and the document appointed ______ (name of the first attorney) of _______ (their address) and (list any subsequent attorneys and their addresses) to act as their attorneys. 
 
2. The Donor revokes (the name of the attorney) only from the Lasting Power of Attorney, as well as any authority granted to them. 
 
The document must then be signed and delivered as a deed, with a witness present, who must then sign, print their full name and their address. 
 
(This is not the full wording of the partial deed of revocation and should not be used to remove an attorney from your Lasting Power of Attorney). 
 
Once the partial deed of revocation has been fully drafted, signed and witnessed, the original will need to be sent, along with the original Lasting Power of Attorney document to the Office of the Public Guardian at: 
 
Office of the Public Guardian 
PO Box 16185 
Birmingham 
B2 2WH 
 
The Office of the Public Guardian will then contact you to confirm what the next steps are. 

Do I need to update my Attorney’s details if these change? 

If one of your Attorneys moves house or changes their name (for example, by marriage or deed poll), it’s important to notify the Office of the Public Guardian so that they can update the details on their system. 
 
They may require proof of the change of details, such as the marriage certificate of the attorney or the deed poll document. Before sending any documents in the post, contact the Office of the Public Guardian on 0300 456 0300 or email customerservices@publicguardian.gov.uk to find out what information they need from you to make the change. 

Can I just amend the Lasting Power of Attorney by hand? 

You should not make any changes to the Lasting Power of Attorney itself, as these could invalidate it. A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document, so once it has been registered, it should not be amended. 

What if one of my Attorneys dies? 

You must notify the Office of the Public Guardian if one of your Attorneys dies. They will need you to return the original Lasting Power of Attorney document, a copy of the attorney’s death certificate, any certified copies of the LPA document, and confirmation of the address which all original documents should be returned to (for example, your house). 
 
Depending on how your attorneys were appointed to act, will depend on whether the Lasting Power of Attorney is valid after one of your attorneys dies. If the attorneys are appointed to act jointly and severally, if one of them dies, the document will usually remain valid. 

Can I add an Attorney to my Lasting Power of Attorney? 

If you want to add another attorney to act alongside the original attorneys, or you want to add a new attorney in place of a previous attorney (who you have removed or who has died, for example), you must entirely revoke your original Lasting Power of Attorney and make a new one. 

How much would it cost to make a new Lasting Power of Attorney? 

Our Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors in Preston or Lancaster would be able to prepare the new Lasting Power of Attorney on your behalf, and deal with the revocation of the previous Lasting Power of Attorney, for just £250.00 plus VAT (plus any registration fees payable to the Office of the Public Guardian, which are usually £82.00 per document [with no VAT payable]). 
 
If you do not already have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, our team can draft one for both financial decisions and health and welfare decisions for just £400.00 plus VAT (plus registration fees of up £164.00 (with no VAT), depending on whether you qualify for a fee remission. If you only want to make one Lasting Power of Attorney (so either financial decisions or health and welfare decisions), our fees would be £250.00 plus VAT, plus the registration fee of up to £82.00 (again, if you qualify for a fee remission or exemption, this could be less). 

How do I instruct MG Legal? 

You can contact our team of Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors in Lancaster or Preston, here, or email wills@mglegal.co.uk. Our team in Preston have offices in both Longridge and Garstang, so you can contact them directly, too. 

Why choose MG Legal? 

Our reviews truly do speak for themselves; you can read them, here
 
MG Legal’s team are always on hand to guide you through your legal matter and to help make the process stress-free, all for an excellent fixed fee. We are available from Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm, and we are always happy to use whichever form of communication is easiest for you, wherever possible. 
 
And, if you instruct our team with drafting Lasting Powers of Attorney before 31st May, keyworkers receive 50% off fixed legal fees. This doesn’t just apply to LPAs; you can receive 50% off all fixed-fee family law matters, residential and commercial property sales and purchases and Will drafting. So, don’t delay, contact our team online, here
 
Prices are corect at time of posting. 
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To speak to a solicitor today, contact us online here. Or give us a call on 01772 783314 
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