New law: New ID verification measures on the way to reduce fraud under Lasting Powers of Attorney

An LPA is a legal document which allows a person (the ‘donor’) to appoint someone else (their ‘attorney’) to make decisions about their welfare, money and/or property. Such LPAs must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (the OPG), which supervises LPAs.

An online service has already been introduced to allow attorneys appointed under English and Welsh LPAs registered with the OPG to prove to third parties who need to know, such as banks or healthcare providers, that they are entitled to act on the donor’s behalf. This works by giving those third parties access to a code-protected online record of the relevant information.

However, new rules have been proposed to better safeguard third parties – and donors themselves - against fraud. The rules will require donors, certificate providers (in brief, those who certify that the donor is competent to enter into the LPA) and perhaps attorneys, to verify their identities by submitting identity documents to the OPG, such as a passport or driving licence. Third parties will have assurance not only that an LPA is properly registered but that those involved are who they say they are. ID verification via the online system will, the government says, be quick and easy.

There will be alternative ways for those without online access, or who may be unable to navigate an online system (because of, for example, brain injuries, degenerative cognitive conditions or learning difficulties) or who do not have an appropriate document, to verify their identities.

This and other developments mean that it will become possible to create an LPA entirely online.

Operative date

• To be announced

Recommendation

• Individuals currently reluctant to make LPAs because of the risk of fraud should reconsider whether they are confident enough to go ahead when the proposed new protections come into force.