Has anyone arranged lasting power of attorney themselves without a solicitor?

[Wildywondrous]

As the title suggests I need to set up lasting power of attorney for my Mum, I know a few people who have done it but they've used solicitors and it's cost over £1000 which I don't have, I've looked online and it sounds pretty simple and I will only have to pay the registration fees which are £164.

I think she's in the early stages of dementia so we need to get it sorted out as quickly as possible, her best friend is happy to be the certificate provider and chat gpt makes it sound very simple and says the only tricky bit is ensuring it's signed in the correct order.

Has anyone set it up themselves and is it a straight forward as it sounds? I will need to do both health and finances.

Yup my husband did it, very straightforward.

I concur - it’s really simple.

Done it 4 times. For each parent and each in-law. Piece of cake. You have to fill in a long form but that’s it. You don’t need a solicitor.

No solicitors used here.

Yes, it's straightforward but you must read the instructions very carefully because if you get the papers signed in the wrong order you have to start again and pay the fee a second time. Also you must make sure that what you are asking of your attorneys is doable.
DH and I did our own and it was all fine. Takes a long time to be approved though because the OPG has a backlog, so get going now!

Agree, did this with my parents. really straightforward.

Just be sure to read the form carefully and fill in every box otherwise they bounce it back to you and you have to pay again (and it was just the one thing missed, ugh).

Just follow the instructions - I thought it was straightforward and everything is complete now

Yes, very straight forward.

We did it when in paper form, think it is mainly online now. The getting signatures in order is the tricky bit!

If low income can possibly claim costs of registering the form.

There are 2 types. When we did DM’s we set up financial one to be used straight away. Health can only come into force once capacity is gone (but register it straight away)

I did it by solicitor. You’re right, it is expensive but I look at it the same as a will, it might seem really straightforward but you might only discover something is wrong when it’s too late.
But I am very risk averse, so I would rather pay.
we thought our wills were really straightforward until we spoke to a solicitor and discovered there were things that cropped up that we hadn’t considered. It’s very difficult when you don’t have the money.
I don’t know if when you register it the OPG ( I think that’s the dept) pick up any errors.

Yes, I did it for both my parents. The forms will come back if you’ve made an error. They do tell you.

Fill it in exactly as it asks and you will be fine. Total waste of money to get a solicitor.

Yes, we did it for a relative a while ago with no solicitor. As pp have said, you do need to follow the instructions carefully, but they will reject it if it's not done correctly, so you'll know straight away whether it's ok.

My neighbour used a solicitor do one for a relative and it was still rejected, so you might as well save yourself the money.

Thanks everyone, it's reassuring to know it's simple to do, presumably the best way is online?

It's super simple to do online of you're in England or Wales. It's a completely different matter if you're in Scotland.

Just done mine online. Instructions very clear, all straightforward.

Yes - done it for my parents and myself. Very straightforward (unlike other government forms).

Can I ask please, I want to set these up but I don’t know which of my child(ren) should be nominated.

Eldest, DD1 currently lives nearest to me, single parent with new partner recently moved in. Professional career but ADHD, impatient, financially careless, YOLO attitude.

DS lives and works abroad.

Youngest, DD2 lives two hours away but is practical, organised, and methodical.

Do all three AC need equal authority, and could DS being out of the UK complicate that?

Is the eldest automatically considered next of kin and responsible for decisions about my eventual care?

Would it be silly to nominate the youngest, although she is the calmest and most capable?

Yes, all online, but then you'll need to print the forms that need signing and dating, and then send them off. Just read the instructions carefully, make sure you do things in the right order, and you'll be grand (I've done it twice).

Yes I did it without a solicitor. I found it very confusing though.

Yes, very straightforward online . I did mine last year and it was £82 for each one, health and finance. As others said it did take a while to come back but they let you know by email that it's been received.

@YourWinter There's an option that you can choose which is something like "severally and equally" - ie it allows any one of your children to act on everyone's behalf. Did that with me and my brother. Ensures that no one person holds things up, but also that everyone can act if needed.

Personally, I think it unfair to nominate 1 of several children as it puts all the responsibility onto them (and when we're talking about end of life decisions, or finances, that's not a great place to be).

Don’t have to have all DC, but in that case I would discuss with them first. Can make them jointly rather than jointly and severally acting so have to work together (would they all agree)

Yes I have done it too, just follow the instructions carefully and it's easy.

Ah yes, that's the wording - "jointly and severally" - means they don't all have to agree but they are all attorneys. If it's just "jointly" then they all have to agree, every time.

Yes I did it a couple of weeks ago. We had been putting it off as we thought it would be stressful but it was very straightforward and such a relief. We just used the government website.