2.
COSTS
For the Court of Protection to grant
permission for a Deputyship order the initial
Court application fee is £385.00 and
this excludes legal fees, and the ongoing
annual fees payable to the Court of
Protection. The registration fee to register
one LPA, be it (a) Property and Financial
or (b) Health and Welfare with the Office
of the Public Guardian (‘OPG’), is £82.00
only, payable to the OPG by cheque
or card. Factoring in the initial costs, any
legal fees and the ongoing supervision
charges, having an LPA completed and
registered is by far the more cost effective
and reasonably priced solution compared
to applying for a Deputyship order.
3.
TIME
To register an existing LPA with the OPG takes anywhere
between a minimum of 4 weeks and a maximum of 16
weeks. When capacity is lost and there is no LPA in place
ready to be used, a Deputyship application would have
to be submitted so that at least one deputy is appointed
to act. To process a Deputyship application through the
Court of Protection can take 6 months or more and this is
at a time when you will have already lost capacity and
the appointment is desperately needed. A Deputyship
application is a more time-consuming undertaking,
compared to the shorter time required to create and
register an LPA in advance with the OPG.
THE EARLIER AN LPA
IS CREATED AND
REGISTERED THE BETTER
4.
INSTRUCTIONS
LPAs allow you to specify any preferences
you would like your Attorneys to be aware
of when they start dealing with your Property
and Care decisions. Preferences are non-
binding expressions of wishes that your
Attorneys are expected to keep in mind
when making decisions on your behalf.
LPAs also allow you to make known any
Instructions you may have for your Attorneys.
These are legally binding and your
Attorneys must follow them. As part of your
instructions, you can grant your Attorneys
access to your digital assets, online bank
accounts and your Will. You can also
use the Instructions section of your LPA to
make known any charity donation wishes
and you can also give any Discretionary
Investment Management instructions.
With an LPA document in place, you have peace of
mind and full estate planning control. You would have
specifically selected your Attorneys and given them
authority to make Financial and Care decisions on your
behalf. LPAs allow you to choose any Replacement
Attorneys and even a professional Attorney (such as
a Trust Corporation), in case your primary Attorneys
are unable or unwilling to act. Finally, if you lack
capacity but your Property and Financial LPA is not
registered, your Attorneys would not be able to access
your bank accounts to pay for expenses such as care
home fees until after they validate your LPA when it is
officially stamped and registered with the OPG. If you
hold an account jointly with someone else they will find
themselves unable to operate the account until an LPA or
Deputyship order is produced to the bank.
To find out more about creating and registering an LPA
please contact The Society of Will Writers on 01522
687 888, and a member of the Society based in your
area will be happy to assist.
the society of will writers
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