Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) – What are ‘people to be notified’?

Having people notified when your LPA is registered is intended to create a ‘safety net’.

When you make a lasting power of attorney (LPA), you can (as the ‘donor’) include a requirement for nominated person(s) to be notified when the LPA is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.  The purpose of this is to provide an element of protection against LPA’s being made inappropriately (eg under duress or fraudulently).

Do I have to have ‘people to be notified?

No, this is not mandatory and so you do not have to include persons to be notified if you don’t feel it is necessary.

Who appoints the ‘people to be notified’?

The donor (the person making the lasting power of attorney) that decides whether to include people to be notified, and equally who it should be.

Who should I include as someone to be notified?

If you are making an LPA and want to have someone notified that the LPA is being registered, then you should choose people that will have your best interests at heart, and be willing to raise an objection should it be necessary.

You can NOT appoint your attorneys or replacement attorneys as the people to be notified.  Obviously, this is given the intent of this process – ie to avoid situations where attorneys are taking LPAs inappropriately.

How do I appoint ‘people to be notified’, and then notify them?

The donor appoints their nominated people to be notified in Section 6 of the LPA forms.  This is true in both types of LPA ie Finance, and Health & Care.

When it then comes to registering the LPA (which will invariably be shortly after it is made), the person registering it with the Office of the Public Guardian must at that stage formally notify each person nominated that registration is taking place.

Either the donor or the attorney can of course register the LPA, and so this process doesn’t entirely remove the scope for ‘mischief’.  Nevertheless, whomever is registering the LPA, they must send form LP3 to each of the ‘persons to be notified’.  One LP3 must be sent to each person for each LPA and so if as the donor you nominated the same people on both types of lasting power of attorney (finance, and health & care), then two LP3s must be sent (one for finance, and one for health & care).

On what grounds can the ‘persons to be notified’ object?

The persons notified can object on one of two objection types:-

• FACTUAL OBJECTION; or
• PRESCRIBED OBJECTION

If a factual objection is being raised, then form LPA007 must be completed and submitted to the OPG.

If a prescribed objection is being raised, then form COP7 must be completed and sent to the Court of Protection, and form LPA008 completed and sent to the OPG.

If the persons being notified have no objections to raise, they have nothing to do.

What are factual objections to an LPA being registered?

The list of factual objections includes:

• the donor or an attorney has died
• the donor and an attorney were married or had a civil partnership but have divorced or ended the civil partnership (unless the LPA says the attorney can still act if that happens)
• an attorney doesn’t have the mental capacity to be an attorney (they must be able to understand and make decisions for themselves)
• an attorney has chosen to stop acting (known as ‘disclaiming their appointment’)
• the donor or an attorney is bankrupt, interim bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order (LPA for financial decisions only)
• the attorney is a trust corporation and is wound up or dissolved (LPA for financial decisions only)

What are prescribed objections when registering an LPA?

Prescribed objections include:

• the LPA isn’t legally valid – for example, you don’t believe the donor had mental capacity to make an LPA
• the donor cancelled their LPA when they had mental capacity to do so
• there was fraud or the donor was pressured to make the LPA
• an attorney is acting above their authority or against the donor’s best interests (or you know that they intend to do this)

Lasting Power of Attorney Solicitors

We hope you’ve found this article about persons to notify helpful.  If you still have questions on this or any other area around lasting power of attorney, do reach out to QLAW – we’re specialist LPA solicitors, and we’re here to help!  You can complete a comment below, message us via the contact us area, or email lpa@Qlaw.co.uk.

Equally, check out the extensive content here on QLAW including a legal glossary, and loads of stuff on every area of law you might want including: conveyancing; wills; probate; employment; and family.

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