Newbie - please explain POA/LPA in layman’s terms

[BlueRaspberry7]

My DF (71) has Parkinson’s with Lewy Body Dementia. He was diagnosed around 2018 and is now frequently confused.

He shared his LPA applications for health/welfare and Property & Financial affairs with me for signing in 2022.

I didn’t make copies at the time.

I followed up on this recently and his wife said that Health application was rejected but it doesn’t matter as she speaks to his GP.

She said the Finance LPA gives her POA and when I asked for a copy she replied that it’s 16 pages long.

I’m a complete newbie to this but I wonder if I should have a copy of the finance LPA. if I remember rightly, it said that I would take over as POA should anything happen to his wife. Is there anything I need to do/ keep on file /be aware of as his condition deteriorates?

thanks in advance.

You receive copies if you are named as an attorney so it sounds like you signed as reserve not his attorney there’s nothing much really to see on the form but I would ask to see if you have been appointed as back up

I don’t think attorneys do get copies, I did my own POA in 2020 with my two adult children as my attorneys and they did not get copies. I have the original paperwork in my safe and my children know where it is and the safe code. My plan is to get copies verified soon so my children can have their own copies - I think I ought to do it while I still have capacity!

I did not get copies of my mother POA documents after I signed as an attorney, but I did manage to find the original copy at her house so was able to get verified copies done by a solicitor. Mums confusion by then was quite advanced so I gave her one of the copies while I kept the original. It’s a good job I was sneaky as when mums Alzheimer’s advanced, she went through a phase of destroying loads of paperwork, including the POA copies and all my school reports and photos! Luckily I had already removed or taken photos of all the important things such as birth certificate, marriage certificates, my father death certificate, investments, insurance policies etc.

Maybe the OP could offer to do a copy of her father’s POA so his wife does not need to do it, it is indeed about 16 double sided pages. Remember though that the original POA needs to be verified, each page needs a stamp of some very specific phrase, a solicitor will charge for doing this so you might want to do this at the same time. I actually scanned my mums POA once verified so I could print off copies as I needed them.

I have a copy of all the ones I’ve got (four! Although only one is currently operational). But that’s because they were all done via a solicitor who enclosed a copy along with the one for signing!)

Was it done by a solicitor? Could you contact the firm for a copy?

Thanks very much all, his wife has now emailed me a copy.

You can access copies online if you need to share them. My parents have the original copies of their LPAs at their house but I have online access.

You need to request an access code from OPG (assuming you are an attorney) which is valid for a few months (they send them out by post for security reasons) and have the LPA reference number to register it to your online account.

@Ihateslugs - I did both my parents in 2019, I'm the only Attorney. You do get copies.

Interesting how things vary. My mum did hers in 2015 and none of the three attorney got a copy, she used a solicitor to do them as well - mind you, we realised years later that he had spelt her first name incorrectly but no one other than me noticed!

I did my own LPAs online during one of the lockdowns, posting the relevant pages to my children to sign as attorneys. They did not get a copy either so maybe there was an option to get them which I missed?

I understand nowadays that there is an online link with a code which attorneys can use with banks etc to avoid having to send verified copies, not sure when they came in.

I am surprised at the huge variation in the cost of using a solicitor to verify the original, I got mums done by a friend who is a solicitor, they had a stamp with the correct wording on so just had to sign each page. I paid £25 for both LPS’s which I know was a bargain because I was a good friend. A colleague at work paid the solicitor who she used to set up the LPAs £150 to verify them!

My LPAs are not yet verified, it’s on my to do list, and I might do it myself but it will be hard work writing out the official statement on every side of each page!

Are you an attorney? I'm attorney for my mum and we don't have copies. I also get a letter to say that I have been registered as an attorney.

They are 16 pages long

Why was it rejected? Rejected isn't really a thing

You can search them online with the number though