Lasting Power of Attorney application timings falling short of targets

New Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) claims took an average of 76 working days, or 15 weeks, to process during the 2023/24 financial year.

However, some people were left waiting considerably longer, with one application ultimately taking 2,777 working days (more than 10 years) to finalise.

The figures were released following a freedom of information request by wealth management firm Quilter. They show reality is often falling short of the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) targets for processing LPAs, which are currently set at 40 working days (eight weeks).

An LPA is a legal document that allows someone to appoint people to make decisions on their behalf if they lose capacity. They can relate either to decisions on health and welfare or property and finance. Both types must be registered with the OPG before they can be used.

Shaun Moore, a tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, said: “The data shows that it is not uncommon for applicants to have to wait years for the approval of their LPA registration.

“Part of the reason for this may be that errors are made on the applications, and because the most common method of application was via post, the rectification of errors took longer, either on the OPG’s side or the applicant’s side.”

New methods of digitally applying for LPAs are designed to help ensure errors in applications can be rectified quicker.

Mr Moore added: “It cannot be overstated how important an LPA can be. However, it is worth remembering that one can only be drafted while you have mental capacity – once you’ve lost capacity, it is too late.”

Responding to the figures, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We offer detailed online guidance on how to make an application and our service also flags potential issues before submission, reducing the risk of errors and delays.

“Cases that take longer than our usual processing times to register are rare and often due to complex issues.”