If you make a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) you have the option of nominating individuals to be notified when the LPA is registered. We look at who you can choose to be told about your LPA and what it might be helpful for them to know.
An LPA is a legal document that authorises someone to deal with your affairs on your behalf, should you become unable to do this yourself. Once you have signed the LPA, it can be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). It is then kept in case it is ever needed.
You can make two types of LPA:
- A property and financial affair LPA; and
- A health and welfare LPA
A property and financial affairs LPA can authorise your attorney to pay bills on your behalf, collect benefits, invest money and deal with your property.
A health and welfare LPA can give your attorney the power to decide where you will live, what day-to-day help you will have and what medical treatment you will receive.
Who are ‘people to be notified’ on an LPA?
When your LPA is drafted, you can choose to have up to five people notified when it is registered ready for use. This will give them the option to think about whether the LPA is right for you and to object if they do not believe that the attorney will act in your best interests or they have concerns about the appointment.
This is a safeguarding precaution and while you do not have to nominate anyone, choosing a handful of individuals can ensure that the situation is approved by those close to you.
You can choose anyone who is not named in the LPA as an attorney. It is not possible to choose a company or an organisation.
You should choose someone you believe has your best interests at heart and who you feel will be able to act independently from your attorneys and who will make a challenge if necessary. This could be a friend or relative or a professional who knows you, your state of mind and your wishes.
What authority do the ‘people to be notified’ have?
The people who are notified can raise an objection if they have concerns about the LPA or the attorney. This could be because they do not believe that the donor had the mental capacity to make an LPA or because they suspect that the donor was pressured into appointing a particular person as their attorney.
There could be a factual reason why an attorney should not be appointed, for example, if they are a bankrupt they are not eligible to act under a property and financial affairs LPA or if they are divorced from the donor, they should not become their attorney.
What happens if someone objects to an LPA?
Anyone is entitled to raise an objection to the registration of an LPA. This is generally done by sending form COP7 to the Court of Protection (COP). If the objection is on certain factual grounds, then the form should be sent to the OPG instead.
The COP or OPG will consider the facts and decide whether or not to register the LPA. If they decide against this, the person making the LPA, known as the donor, may be able to make an alternative LPA appointing a different attorney, provided that they still have the mental capacity to do so.
It is also open to the COP to register the LPA, but omit a particular attorney if there are other attorneys named alongside who can still act on the donor’s behalf.