18 September 2024 - Written by Angela Ireland
Power of Attorney document on a table with a pen hovering just above the text

New Online Service to check Validity of Lasting Powers of Attorney

The Office of the Public Guardian* (OPG) has introduced a new digital service allowing financial organisations to ‘View an LPA’ (Lasting Power of Attorney). The online service means that the terms of an LPA can be checked quickly and efficiently to ensure that it is valid and the attorneys are correct, without the original document being needed.

The service is available for LPAs registered in England and Wales. To access the LPA, an LPA access code must be provided by the attorney or the donor (the person who made the LPA).

The OPG site provides the financial organisation with the information necessary to check that the attorneys are able to make decisions on behalf of their customers. For example, the View an LPA site will confirm:

  • whether the LPA is valid and registered;
  • the donor’s personal details – name, address and date of birth;
  • the attorney’s personal details;
  • the number of attorneys;
  • how decisions are made by the attorneys – jointly, or jointly and severally;
  • any instructions and preferences set out by the donor which could affect the attorney’s authority;
  • the donor’s choice on life sustaining treatment, for health and welfare LPAs.

As well as helping speed up the process of registering an LPA with a financial organisation, the service is more accurate. If the donor has removed an attorney, or if the donor or attorney has changed their name or address, then the paper document may not reflect these changes. In contrast the digital record should be up to date – it is important for donor’s and attorneys to inform the OPG of any changes to their personal details after an LPA has been made!

The financial organisation is able to download a summary of the LPA for its records. The donor and attorneys are able to check which companies have verified the LPA for their records.

The ‘Use a Lasting Power of Attorney’ service can be found at Use a lasting power of attorney – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

For more information on making and using Lasting Powers of Attorney please contact our specialists in the Private Client Team who will be happy to help. *

*The Office of the Public Guardian, or OPG, is an agency of the Ministry of Justice. It aims to protect people in England and Wales who may not have mental capacity to make certain decisions about their finance and health.