None! You may see a lot of articles and web sites giving you the impression that you need a solicitor to set up your LPA. This just isn’t true and the government have made the process easier than before.
However, please bear in mind that the person setting it up needs to understand a few things. Importantly, that the donor is in a fit state to make decisions at the time of making the LPA and the implications of those decisions.
The fees advertised by some firms will make your eyes water and can run into many hundreds of pounds on top of the OPG application fees.
You Can Do It Yourself
The government site provides everything to enable you to create the LPA yourself. So if you are feeling confident and have the necessary attention for details go for it. There is nothing to stop you.
However, the forms need to be completed without errors and in the correct order. Mistakes found in the application could lead to the LPA being rejected and additional fees incurred to complete the application.
If you are well organised and methodical you can save yourself a lot of money. Bear in mind that you still need to pay the £92 registration fee per LPA and that for full coverage each person needs both a property & finance LPA and a health and welfare LPA.
That’s £184 in total just for the registration. There are possible reductions to the registration fees but this depends upon your particular circumstances.
Everything stated above is true for most people but some may have more complicated affairs and circumstances. This would no doubt mean setting up the LPA will not be straightforward.
You should read about these complications to make sure you are not affected by them. If you are then it is probably best to seek legal advice.
The services available from the LPA Agency are not intended as legal advice. They are provided to ensure all the correct information is entered and checked and to navigate you through the process before being submitted to the OPG. As such there is an additional cost on top of the OPG registration fee.
It is not uncommon to see charges for legal fees from solicitors and similar firms to range from a few hundred pounds to thousands. Unless you have a complicated situation, there generally isn’t a need to spend so much.
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