DIY PoA - Who to put as the certificate provider?

[DressedForWarmth]

I'm setting up both types of Power of Attorney for my father, as he is starting to show signs of dementia. We want to get it is place as quickly as possible before he starts the process of diagnosis.

He doesn't have a lot of money and so wants to avoid using a solicitor if at all possible, especially as everything on his form is pretty straightfoward. I'll be the attorney and my sister will be the replacement.

However, we have no idea who to ask to be the certificate provider. If we were using a solicitor I guess they would have that role. My father's friends are all elderly themselves. He gets on well with his neighbours, but looking at the questions that would need to be asked, I think it might be too much to ask of them.

All the guidance says it could be a GP, but it's hard enough getting an appointment when he's actually ill, so I'm not sure if this is a service they offer anymore.

If you went down the DIY route for setting up PoA instead of paying hundreds to a solicitor to do it, who did you use as your certificate provider?

Thanks

When I did my own LPA, I asked a fellow committee member of my WI who I’ve known for about four years. I did not think the questions asked were particularly difficult, mainly trying to make sure that I had the mental capacity to agree to the application.

When we helped Mum do hers, we used a neighbour who just took popped round to sign the form.

I just used a friend, it was quick and easy. She doesn't have any particular status, or anything.

We used a neighbour for my MIL

Mine was a friend who had known mum for decades, she did mum's and mine at the same time. It doesn't need to be a professional, it's someone independant who can check that the donor really understands what it is that they are signing.

It doesn’t matter if the certificate provider is elderly, their role is over once the OPG has registered the POA

Anyone who is over 18 and has known your father for a certain length of time (several years). They are certifying that he isn't being coerced and is of sound mind.

We used a long-standing neighbour.

I think you need to be clear in your mind what you're asking. Anyone over 18 who has known your DF for over 2 years can certificate. But they really do need to be of the opinion that your DF has the capacity to make an LPA. So wanting to 'get it done before diagnosis' isn't really going to cut it. He either does or doesn't have capacity and he can't be certified if he doesn't. It wouldn't be fair to ask someone to certify his fitness if there is doubt. If you do have doubt, you need to get him formally assessed for capacity first.

Just to say that even with a dementia diagnosis, a person can still have capacity.