LPOA question - stupid probably but stressed

[BreatheAndFocus]

I’m doing the Lasting Power of Attorney forms online. I’ve got someone who’s happy to be the Certificate Provider but looking through the instructions about the order the forms have to be signed in, it also refers to a Witness.

My question: does this witness have to be a different person from the Certificate Provider?

Thanks for any help. It’s probably obvious but I’m tired and stressed so thought I’d check here so I don’t mess it up. TIA

No advice but shamelessly following as I have to get this in place for myself this week.

The witness to my brother's signature ( I was doing the paperwork so that he could give me POA) was the same as the person certifying that he had mental capacity. Both done by his social worker.

I think so. We got neighbours to witness ours.

You need a separate Witness and Certificate Provider. Plus the person and the Attorney.

At least that's how I've always done it. Neighbours are a good shout. Or spouses/partners.

Oh, some disagreement 😐 Some people saying Yes, some No.
I’ve looked through the Order of Signing and I’m clear who everyone is, but I still can’t find if the Certificate Provider can also be the Witness.

Why doesn’t it just say somewhere obvious on the form? 😞

The witness can be the same person as the certificate provider, it's number 4 on the FAQ here

https://publicguardian.blog.gov.uk/2021/08/26/creating-an-lpa-frequently-asked-questions/

Page 38 of the guide, part A10, says "your certificate provider can witness your and your attorneys signature"

Ah, thank you! Very grateful to you for that 😊

Be extra careful about order of signing. Mine got sent back on the first attempt as I got it wrong!

Cert provider and witness can be the same person. I couldn't get my head round organising all the people to sign in the correct order so everyone put the same date. I checked in advance that they were happy to do this. I also filled in the cert provider/witness's address for them in all the many places they would have to sign, to save them some time.

Oh no! What did you get wrong? I was planning to put the same dates for everyone. That whole ‘order of signing’ thing is stressful too! So worried I’ll mess it up somehow!

Don’t worry, I think I was a bit like you and stressed at the time, which is I suppose the nature of the beast. I think I somehow reversed the order of signing so I got the witness to sign before the certificate provider instead of vice versa. When they sent it back with a note and I re read the stuff, it was perfectly clear. I think if everyone signs on the same date as you’re planning it will be fine.