Funding issue for power of attorney

natasha29

Hi,my boyfriend has a daughter who is severely disabled with cerebral palsy and now he has to try to find £3,000 pound for the power of attorney, does anyone know if this is right ? Plus if there is any help he can get with this as her mother has all the benefits but he cares for her more than her 

Richard_Scope

Hi @natasha29
Thanks for your post.
It very much depends on the custody arrangements for your boyfriend's daughter. I would recommend that your boyfriend makes an appointment to see the Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB).

atlas46

Hi

I strongly support @Richard_Scope, your boyfriend needs legal advice, he should contact a local Law Centre.

There is no funding for LPA.

He needs to understand that he has to obtain the agreement of interested parties. I am thinking of the child's mother.

Otherwise he will find he will have prove his case at The Court of Protection, in London.

He could also see if he can get pro bono support, but he would have explain his motives.

You cannot cost anything at the stage, so ? The £3,000.

Jean_OT

Hi @natasha29

I agree that some legal advice would be useful for your boyfriend but I thought it might also be useful if I clarified a few points.

Power of Attorney is a legal instrument that is only potentially appropriate if your boyfriends daughter is over 18 years of age and has enough understanding of what it means that she can give informed consent to the process.

If she can't give informed consent Power of Attorney is not possible and instead he would be looking at a more complex process of applying to be made her Deputy by the Court of Protection. The Court would closely examine the circumstances to see if she needs a Deputy and who the most appropriate person for the role would be.

There is some basic information about the difference between the two processes on the Scope website at:     
https://www.scope.org.uk/support/disabled-people/money/power-of-attorney or more detailed information at: 
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-public-guardian

Both processes have normally have costs involved. Power of Attorney is normally cheaper. Some people do the forms for it themselves avoiding legal charges and if the disabled person is an means-tested benefits they can apply for a reduction in application fees. 

For a Deputy application, especially if it was contested, most people would need legal representation, and again their are application fees involved so for most people the process would be in the region of £3K but there is a possibility of getting some costs reduced: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/697074/opg120-get-help-with-paying-opg-deputy-fees.pdf

Hope this helps to clarify matters

Best wishes
Jean