News story

Lasting power of attorney forms are changing from Wednesday 1 July

New, simpler and clearer lasting power of attorney (LPA) forms will be introduced for both property and financial affairs LPAs and health and welfare LPAs

From:
Office of the Public Guardian
Published
25 June 2015
Last updated
1 July 2015 — See all updates

How have the forms changed?

The new forms reflect the responses to our consultation and feedback from users who were directly involved in their development. The redesign will make the forms easier to follow and faster to complete. We have also removed the requirement for a second certificate provider, as this was making it difficult for some people who wanted to make an LPA.

Having listened through our consultation, we haven’t combined the forms for health and welfare and property and finance. Nor will we be removing the requirement for a signature and witness for the life sustaining treatment section. Other safeguards remain the same, such as the need for an independent witness to sections of the LPA and someone you know certifying that, in their judgement, you have capacity.

The new LPA forms complement the existing online LPA service which takes users through each page of the application step-by-step, making sure it is completed correctly before it’s printed off and submitted.

Timing for transition to the new forms

To make this change easier for everyone, we’ll be accepting both the old and new versions of LPA forms for the next six months:

  • From Wednesday, 1 July 2015 until Friday, 1 January 2016, you can use either the old or 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, 1 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, 1 January 2016, they won’t be able to be registered.

No changes are being made to enduring powers of attorney (EPA) forms at this time. These will still be able to be registered after the introduction of the new LPA forms.

LPAs are legal documents which allow the applicant to appoint someone they know and trust to make decisions about their health and welfare or financial affairs if they were to lose mental capacity in the future.

All new paper copy LPA packs provided directly by OPG will be printed on premium grade recycled paper in support of our sustainability policy.

Notes to editors

  1. The consultation ‘Transforming the services of the Office of the Public Guardian - enabling digital by default’ was published on 15 October 2013 and ended on 26 November 2013.
  2. The number of applications for lasting powers of attorney has increased significantly in recent years. 242,000 were registered in 2012 to 2013, 295,000 in 2013 to 2014 and 394,000 in 2014 to 2015.
  3. More information about the Office of the Public Guardian including forms and details about lasting powers of attorney can be found on GOV.UK.
  4. New LPA forms and supporting guidance will be available on GOV.UK from 1 July.
  5. The Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) digital service went live in May 2014, the first government exemplar to pass the Digital by Default service standard to do so.
  6. OPG has developed brief guides to explain what’s involved in being an attorney under an LPA.
  7. For more information, call the Ministry of Justice press office on 020 3334 3536. Follow us on twitter @MoJGovUK.

Updates to this page

Published 25 June 2015
Last updated 1 July 2015 + show all updates

  1. Article updated to provide a link to the new LPA forms and the LPA digital service.

  2. First published.