If you registered a Lasting Power of Attorney between 1st April 2013 and 31st March 2017 then you could be owed a refund from the OPG for each LPA.
The Government have recently announced that people who paid registration fees in this period can apply for a partial refund as they have paid more than was necessary. Between the above dates the fee charged for registration was £110 for each LPA although on 1st April 2017 the fee was reduced to just £82 per LPA.
The fees charged are just meant to cover the administration costs hence the reduction but, more importantly, the Government is now repaying the difference between what applicants paid for registration during this time and, what they should have paid. In addition they are adding interest to the repayments.
Dependent upon when, within the above period, an LPA was registered you could be owed up to £54 for each LPA.
Bearing in mind that there are two types of LPA – both Financial and Health – then you could be owed a refund of as much as £108 per individual or, £216 for a couple.
The refund arrangements also apply to the older style of Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) if they were only actually registered within the above dates.
Full details of the arrangements, including a scale of refunds, can be found at www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund
Refunds are even available to Donors who, based upon having limited income, may have paid fees at a reduced level of 50%.
Claims for refunds can be made be made by either the Donor (the person who made the Power of Attorney) or, one of the Attorneys (the person appointed to take care of the Donor’s affairs) although the refund will be paid to the Donor.
The reclaim system is really straightforward and can be made on line, as above, or via a telephone call to the OPG helpline 0300 456 0300.
It took less than 20 minutes for me to make reclaims for the LPAs of my wife and myself and, having “practised”, even less time to make reclaims for two longstanding friends for whom I am an attorney.
To make a claim you will need:
The Donor’s name, address and date of birth
A UK Bank Account number and sort code for the Donor and,
The name and date of birth of one of the Attorneys on the LPA
If having got this far you realise that the refund scheme doesn’t apply to you, as you have not arranged LPAs, then I would urge you to discuss the subject further with your adviser as, from personal experience with my mother, I can state that if someone loses mental capacity without having arranged LPAs, then it can be too late unless mental capacity is regained.
John Maynard Dip PFS, Certs CII (MP & ER)
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