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    Using Registered Lasting Powers of Attorney to speed up decision making

    If a client loses capacity and we are working with an Attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for Property & Financial Affairs, one of the biggest cause of delays is registering the LPA with various financial institutions.

    The certifying of a copy of an LPA is an exacting task, for which a solicitor will charge, so it is commonplace for there to only be one certified copy, which then must be circulated, one-by-one, to all the banks, building societies, investment houses, etc.

    It’s fair to say that these types of institutions take their time at the best of times and in the instance of a client losing capacity, often there are important decisions to take quickly to help them access the support they need and to pay for it.

    However, there is a simple process to overcome this problem for most recent LPAs.

    For all LPAs registered on or after 01 January 2016 the Donor or the Attorney(s) can obtain an “Access Code” which can then be passed to the financial institution to enable them to view a summary of the LPA online. The link for this is gov.uk/use-lasting-power-of-attorney and, if you have an LPA for Property & Financial Affairs to which this service applies, I recommend you apply for the Access Code now.

    Robert Hudson
    About the Author

    Robert has been with Wren Sterling since 2009. He is responsible for providing ongoing planning advice to a broad range of clients from company directors, SME business owners to personal clients. His particular focus is on retirement planning, succession planning and protection for key individuals and company owners. Robert has 20 years experience as an independent financial adviser and has many clients who have been with him for the majority of this period. Through a personalised face-to-face approach he dedicates time to really understand clients’ needs and delivers practical solutions through the creation of a bespoke financial plan. Robert is a Chartered Financial Planner and specialises in helping clients understand their pension plans, enabling them to control their retirement planning. He is also qualified to provide advice on defined benefit pension transfers, helping clients understand whether or not they would be better of transferring their benefits from their DB pension.

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