A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal instrument and requires certain procedures to be followed in its execution. You can create an LPA online.
If you are thinking of creating an LPA online, you can do so at sites such as this, safe in the knowledge that it is created correctly.
Who can witness an LPA?
The donor’s signature has to be witnessed by someone over the age of majority, 18, and this cannot be an attorney. Attorneys’ signatures must be witnessed by anyone 18 years of age or older, but not the donor. Attorneys or their replacements can witness each other’s document signature.
All signatures must be witnessed in person.
Who can be a certificate provider
The certificate provider must be 18 or over, know the donor for more than 2 years, not be an employee of principal signatories or related to the donor or attorney.
The certificate provider will sign the LPA once the donor and their witness has signed the document. The role they play is ensuring the donor correctly understands, using their own mental capacity, the document they are signing. They will also ensure no coercion is involved in the creation of the instrument.
Certificate providers are also often professionals who have the knowledge and skills to ensure that the donor is fit and able to make decisions about the creation of an LPA. They could be a healthcare professional, the donor’s own GP, a legal advisor, a completely independent advocate for mental capacity or a professional social worker.
