Certifier for Power of Attorney

[Unorganisedchaos2]

Hi, posting in here rather than legal as it applies to elderly relatives but happy to repost.

I've been advised to apply for PoA for my Dad (both financial affairs and health welfare decisions) I've started an application for both but Im getting stuck when it asks for a certifier. I understand it needs to be someone impartial, so not connected to either me or Dad and it cant be someone form his care home, carer etc.

Would it be best to find a solicitor for this and if so should I just try and find a family law practice or is there a better alterative?

Also I have been told that any close relatives need to be notified, in our case Dad is divorced from Mum (and has no interest in his affairs) and I have a sister but she is NC - would she need to be notified?

I have LPOA for my mum , signed by me and the family solicitor if that helps and by mum. The documents were drawn up by the solicitor - apparently It isn't hard to do it yourself but in my case the family solicitor did it ( they were the solicitors for Dad's probate ) I think that the advantage of having it done with a solicitor is they will give you proper advice as to who needs to be notified.

Best of luck with it. It's one of those things easy to ignore but if you leave it too late , it is too late and then more problems.
I wish you well 💐

We did POA ourselves it was easy. Didn't use a solicitor. Just needed witnesses for signatures. My mum had a long standing friend do hers I used a neighbour. My brothers were joint so didn't need to inform anyone. If on pension credit guaranteed it is free

It has to be someone that has known your Dad for 2 years but isn't a family member. So friends, neighbours, former work colleagues, people from a social club or church - it may be difficult if he has lost touch with people when he moved into the care home.

I did it myself. You don’t need a solicitor. But you do need to take care filling the forms. The certifier just needs to be someone your dad knows and can certify he understands what he is signing.

You do not need a solicitor.
We had mums neighbour as certificate provider.

You can use a company to be the certificate provider. They have to ensure that the donor has the capacity to understand what they are signing. Care home staff can't witness signatures at all. I can recomend Simply Social Work https://www.simplysocialwork.co.uk/ I had fully expected to need to apply for Deputyship but as my parent was judged to 'have capacity' when LPA was explained to them we were able to go for LPA. SSW were really good, spent a lot of time explaining the process to me, explaining how capacity works etc, were way cheaper than a solicitor and it was easier than asking someone to judge understanding when they have no knowledge of the relevant section of the Mental Health Act. They were also incredibly patient and kind when dealing with the donor. We used them as certificate providers and then had neighbours witness our signatures.

You don't need a solicitor. As long as it is someone your dad has known for two years and not a relative, they can certify the POA.
I have recently done this for my dad. He used his next door neighbour to certify it. Very easy to do yourself and far cheaper than using a solicitor. Just make sure you use Gov.UK and follow what you need to do. It's just gone up to about £92 for each one

You only have to inform other relatives if dad chooses to do so. The certifier is the witness to dad’s signature they don’t need to be ‘not connected’ to either of you but they can’t be a relative, a friend or neighbour is fine. Solicitor’s charge a fortune and often still make mistakes tbh. It’s very easy to do online and then you print it off to be signed.

My friend was mine.
One of my parents friends was theirs.
It isn't anything onerous, but a "check" to make sure there is no coercion.

It isn't the signature witness.

Who can be a certificate provider for my LPA?
A Certificate Provider must:

• not be related to the donor or attorney(s)
• be aged 18 or over
• have known the donor well for at least two years
• not be classed as an employee of the donor or attorney(s)

They sign the LPA after the donor and the donor’s witness. Their role is to make sure the donor can understand independently what they are signing and is not being forced into doing it. Ideally a certificate provider will speak to the donor separately and privately before signing and witnessing the document. The certificate provider could also be a professional - someone with the skills to know if the donor is able to make the decision to make an LPA. For example:

• a registered healthcare professional, such as the donor’s GP
• a solicitor, barrister or advocate
• a registered social worker
• an independent mental capacity advocate