Important changes to the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) July 2015

LPAs are legal documents which permit an applicant to appoint someone who they know and trust to make decisions about their health and welfare or about their financial affairs. Applicants may wish to grant a power of attorney to someone if they fear that they may lose their mental capacity in the future.

Elderly and vulnerable clients require support and advice from specialist solicitors. The number of applications for such LPAs has increased significantly in recent years. 242,000.00 were registered in 2012 to 2013, 295,000.00 in 2013 to 2014 and 394,000.00 in 2014 to 2015.

The Office of Public Guardian (OPG) in July 2015 and following discussions with Solicitors and other Practitioners amended the layout and requirements of the Lasting Power of Attorney. The requirement for a second certificate provider has now been removed, as they consider that this was making it difficult for some people who wanted to make an LPA.

Many other safeguards remain the same, for instance, not combining the forms for health and welfare, and property and finance, and continuing with the need for an independent witness to sections of the LPA, and to someone you know certifying that in their judgement, you have capacity.

The OPG will be accepting both the old and the new versions of LPA forms for the next six months:

  • From Wednesday 1st July 2015 until Friday 1st January 2016, you can use either the old or the new versions of these forms to create and register an LPA.


  • If the old LPA forms have been completed, signed and dated correctly by Friday 1st January 2016, they can still be registered at any time providing they have been made correctly.


  • If an LPA made using the old forms has not been completed, signed and dated by Friday 1st January 2016, they won’t register.


    • No changes are being made to enduring powers of attorney (EPA) forms at the moment. These can still be registered after the introduction of the new LPA forms.

    It is strongly advised to have an experienced power of attorney solicitor assist you in making these applications as the Court of Protection will reject one if it contains the slightest mistake. You will lose your registration fee and then have to reapply and pay the registration fee again.

    Please call us on 0207 183 0084 or email us on info@olaleslie.com to request further information about applying for a Lasting Power of Attorney or an Enduring Power of Attorney; we are always happy to assist. We can also assist you with making a will.



    Ayesha Leslie, Partner
    Ola Leslie Solicitors
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