To ask about Lasting Power of Attorney

[charm8ed]

Hi
I’m in the process of setting up LPOA with my DB for my DM, we are going to download the documents and fill in the forms at home. Does anyone know if my DH so my DSIL can be the witnesses?
Thank you.

Ideally witnesses should be outside the family.

I witnessed my brother sign a LPA for my mum, so much be ok x

You need to consider whether it’s financial, health or both.
It’s better if a witness is outside the family to avoid conflict later on.
IT must be registered or it won’t be effective if needed.

Thank you, we want to both types health and financial .

We went for independent, asked parents neighbours

They're supposed to be "impartial" so it could be argued that your respective spouses aren't. Best practice to get a friend or neighbour, someone independent.

Witnesss can be family however the certificate provider must not be. There's an extensive list and guidance online and if you all the Office of the Public Guardian they will be able to advise you on the phone.

We did these for each other years ago; and how glad I am now that we did! OH is in a nursing home with PD and the financial and care issues are very complex and he would not be able to keep up with it all.

We did it on the downloadable forms. There is lots of advice on there so you cannot really go wrong - but you do have to be meticulous about the order in which things are signed in order for them to be valid. A friend (who was a doctor) did all the witness signatures.

We had a family friend witness ours on my Dad's POA.

They're only witnessing the signature not the form, so you don't have to tell your witness all the details.

We had a friend of my mums witness it for our Dad. She took him into another room and talked to him about it to make sure he knew what he was signing and why. They can be abused so best to have witnesses outside the family in case it gets challenged.

I know my local bank have refused to accept one where they felt abuse was possible and in that case it had all been done in the family and that rang alarm bells in the first place that led to further formal investigation.

We got the person who was certifying that my DM was in full capacity to witness DM signature. That person was a neighbour of my DM who had known her for 2 years. Think we then got our neighbour to witness the remaining signatures (as DH who was also going to be attorney was not there when DM signed it)

You need to ensure you get the signatures in the right order where dates are concerned

What @GrumpySausage said. My DDs partner witnessed the signatures but a friend of mine was the certificate provuder. As I understand it, my friend will be the one who confirms, that in her opinion, I have lost capacity to make my own decisions.

I chose this friend very specifically. While I would never expect my DD to take advantage of the LPO she knows exists, friend has form for not bowing down to authority if she doesn't think it's morally right to do so

Yes, they can. Ideally it should be someone from outside the family, but anyone can be a witness as long as it’s not the donor. Attorneys can witness for each other as well, even if they are related.

Certificate provider usually witnesses the donor’s signature. I assume you have this sorted (can’t be a family member).

I produce these documents at work.

Certificate provider has to be someone your mum has known for at least two years, or a professional who can confirm your mother has capacity.

Does she have capacity? You can’t make an LPA if she doesn’t have it.

My MiL has just applied for both LPAs. Her close friend was the witness on both forms. I completed the forms online with my MIL and the witness present, then printed them off and we all signed our relevant bits at the same time. It took about 6 weeks for the certificates to come through.
It does advise to use an impartial witness, and they have had to have known the person for more than 2 years.

It's says on the document - above the witness section - anyone over 18 and not the Donor (the person creating the document).

Except the section about life sustaining treatment which can not be the donor or one of the other attorneys and must be over 18.

I sign them all day everyday as work at a law firm. If in doubt about anything else in the document call the Office of Public guardian I wouldn't ask for opinions on a forum! Too important to get wrong and the OPG can be very fussy when it comes to registration.

It clearly states on the form who can sign either as a witness or a certificate provider. Ifin doubt call the opg.

Thank you everyone

Do not forget to apply for a reduction in the fee - we got it, even though we had a fair bit of savings at the time.

Could you explain a bit more about the reduction in the fee please?

There’s a lower fee for those on a low income, check the office of the public guardian for the fees and income thresholds

Thank you.

The reduced fee is dependent on the income of the person applying, i.e. The donor, not the recipients i.e. the attorneys.

Witnesses cannot be family or a beneficiary. Ask a neighbour