One LPA £350 plus VAT, both £550, a couple £950, plus the £82 registration fee each
Lasting powers of attorney
The two documents that let the people you choose make decisions for you if you cannot: one for property and money, one for health and care. Drafted by us, the certificate signed here, registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, and explained properly, which is the part the forms do not do.
An LPA is the document people wish they had made the year before they needed it. Without one, a spouse cannot deal with a joint account that has been frozen, and the alternative, a deputyship through the Court of Protection, costs thousands and takes a year. With one, the person you chose simply gets on with it.
There are two: the property and financial affairs LPA, which can be used as soon as it is registered if you choose, for the bank, the pension, the house; and the health and welfare LPA, which only takes effect if you lose capacity, and covers where you live, your care and, if you say so, life-sustaining treatment. Most people make both. We go through who your attorneys are, whether they act jointly or separately, what instructions and preferences to write in (which is where the mistakes on the free forms happen), and who will be the certificate provider; usually we are.
We draft, you sign, your attorneys sign, we certify, and we send them for registration, which currently takes the Office of the Public Guardian about three months. We tell you when they are back. The registration fee is £82 each; it is halved if your income is under £12,000 and waived on certain benefits, and we apply for the reduction for you. An LPA can be made for a parent who still has capacity but is slowing down, and most of the ones we do are, at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, across the Vale at no extra charge.
What is included
- Both LPAs explained in plain English
- Attorneys, replacements and instructions chosen with you
- Drafted, witnessed and certified by us
- Registered with the Office of the Public Guardian and chased
- The fee reduction applied for if you qualify
- Home visits across the Vale at no extra charge
What it costs
One LPA £350 plus VAT, both LPAs for one person £550 plus VAT, both for a couple £950 plus VAT. The Office of the Public Guardian charges £82 to register each one; there are fee reductions on a low income. Fees are plus VAT at 20%; disbursements are passed on at cost. The prices page has the calculator, a typical move line by line, and every extra.
Questions about lPAs
Can my attorney do what they like?
No. They must act in your best interests, keep your money separate, and follow your instructions. The Office of the Public Guardian investigates complaints, and we help you write instructions that make abuse harder, for example requiring two attorneys to agree on selling the house.
My mother already has dementia. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. The test is whether she understands what an LPA is and what it does at the time she signs, which many people in the early stages do. We will see her, and if it is too late we will say so and explain the deputyship route honestly.
Work out the fee, then get it in writing.
The calculator on the prices page gives the fixed fee for buying, selling or both, with the disbursements and the Land Transaction Tax. Send the quote form and the same figure comes back in writing within the working day, with the name and direct line of the person who will do the work.