Urgent warning about
Government’s ‘risky’ online legal tool, Mowbray Woodward, 15th November 2016
Mowbray Woodwards solicitor
Heledd Wyn has joined a number of organisations representing older and
vulnerable people to raise serious concerns around the Government’s online tool
for creating Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs).
An LPA is a powerful legal
document that allows a person to appoint trusted individuals to make important
decisions about care and finances on their behalf, in the event of a loss of
mental capacity through an accident or illness such as dementia. In May 2014,
the Government’s Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) launched its online LPA
tool, which it claims allows people to create the documents without the need
for professional advice from a solicitor.
But a new report, published by
a coalition of organisations led by SFE, warns that anyone creating an LPA
without taking specialist legal advice faces a significantly higher risk of
being left with an ineffective legal document, incurring additional application
fees, and even becoming a victim of fraud or coercion. The report also raises
concerns around the potential of a completely digital system proposed by the
OPG, whereby ‘wet signatures’ – the physical signing of the document – would no
longer be required.
Heledd Wyn is a Full
Accredited member of SFE, and said: “The
prospect of being able to submit an LPA application entirely digitally is
extremely concerning, and raises some serious questions around the potential
for fraud and financial abuse.”
During a study conducted for
the report, participants were invited to create LPAs using the OPG’s online
tool and other ‘DIY’ methods.
The study revealed that:
·
Some of the forms did not accurately express the
way in which participants would want their affairs and welfare to be handled in
the future
·
Documents made using DIY methods were more
likely to contain elementary mistakes, rendering them ineffective and requiring
additional application fees
·
Following consultation with a solicitor, most
participants made significant changes to the permissions of their documents
regarding how and by whom their affairs were managed
June McSparron, a 75-year-old
who participated in the study, said: “You’re
exposing yourself to a lot of risk by filling this form in on your own. There
are so many bits that you can get wrong, and you can easily be pressured into
making choices that you’re not entirely comfortable with.”
The number of LPAs being
registered has increased steadily since the launch of the online tool, with
over half a million registered in 2015/16 alone. The OPG is actively trying to
convince more people to apply for LPAs online, having set a target for the
service to comprise 30% of all applications from April 2016 to March 2017. In
its latest Annual Report, the OPG even admits it is willing to take ‘risks’ in
striking a balance between ‘empowering and safeguarding’. With the OPG already
receiving over 1,000 calls to its contact centre every day, the organisations
behind the campaign say the Government body is potentially exposing people to
unacceptable levels of risk and in doing so may be compromising its ability to
safeguard those who are most vulnerable.
Heledd Wyn said: “An LPA is by far the most powerful and
important legal document an individual can have, because it allows you to pass
potentially life-changing decisions about your affairs on to a third party.
It’s absolutely right that people should be planning ahead for the future with
LPAs, but granting someone this sort of authority over your affairs is an
extremely big responsibility for all parties involved. This is a specialist
area of the law, and we recommend that anyone considering an LPA goes to a
legal expert to ensure they get the right advice, consider all the options, and
safeguard themselves for the future.”
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