The families waiting up to 1,000 days to get power of attorney

Anxious families are being forced to wait up to three-and-a-half years for essential documents they need to care for loved ones.

Bombshell figures obtained by Money Mail under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request reveal an enormous backlog of applications for power of attorney.

Tens of thousands of families are trapped in the logjam, with some waiting so long that applicants are dying in the meantime. 

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows you to appoint a trusted friend or family member to make decisions about your finances, property and health on your behalf.

Having one in place is invaluable if you lose the ability to manage your own affairs and need help from someone you know and trust. Without it, families are being left in limbo, unable to make critical financial and health decisions on behalf of loved ones.

You can apply for a LPA by filling out a form and sending it to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), which is the organisation responsible for processing and approving the applications.

However, evidence seen by Money Mail suggests the system is in chaos. Today we reveal that:

• The average wait time has soared to 91 days, according to official figures from the FOI request.
• One family waited a staggering 983 working days — that’s close to four years — for their application to be granted, the FOI revealed.
• One Money Mail reader’s LPA application has been lost by the OPG, which means that more than a year after the application was made, it still has not been approved.
• Another reader says her husband’s application took so long that he died while they were waiting for it to be processed.
• A Bill is passing through Parliament to urgently reform the LPA system and make applications quicker and easier. But unless it is passed by the House of Lords soon, it may be months before it is approved.

Endless waits

The long waits are leaving thousands of families in fear that their loved one will lose capacity or even die before their application has been approved.

Ian Dalling, 79, and his wife Sheila, 78, breathed a sigh of relief when the LPA applications they made in February last year were finally approved in December.

But then, earlier this year, they received a further letter from the OPG to say that Ian’s LPAs had not been registered after all because the OPG had lost the original forms.

The couple from Gosport, Hampshire, have now been waiting 15 months since they made applications to give each other and their two children permission to manage their affairs.

Slow progress: Sheila and Ian Dalling have been waiting 15 months for their LPA. They want to give each other and their two children permission to manage their affairs

‘The OPG is shambolic,’ says Ian, a retired management consultant. ‘The situation keeps getting worse. 

Every time I call I speak to a different member of staff. The system at the OPG is broken and there seems to be no awareness of where documents are or if they have been processed.’

Insiders say that the OPG receives around 4,000 applications a day, which are scanned by hand. 

This equates to about 80,000 sheets of paper. However, the OPG is struggling to cope with the sheer volume of paperwork, with the result that essential documents are being misplaced or lost for good.

Waiting times have been rising as the number of applications submitted has soared in recent months.

A growing number of families are realising the benefits of having LPAs in place, following successful public awareness campaigns.

 Young love: Sheila and Ian Dalling pictured shortly after getting engaged in 1966

The pandemic forced people to think about their plans if they should become unwell in future, which also influenced the rise in LPA applications. More than 88,600 requests are being registered each month — over 60 per cent more than during the pandemic.

The OPG says its 1,077 staff are working overtime to combat the backlog, and that an extra 103 full-time employees have been taken on since last June.

Janis Ward, 75, has been waiting eight weeks for her two LPA applications to be approved.

Janis submitted the applications in February to grant her adult children, Cora and Simon, the right to manage her affairs if she becomes unable to do so herself. However, the retired telephone operator from Swanley, Kent, has just received a letter from her solicitor to say she should expect a wait of 16 weeks.

‘The wait is deplorable,’ says Janis. ‘The delays are very frustrating and the whole thing is a complete and utter shambles.’

Sheree Green, former chair of the Law Society Mental Health and Disability Committee, says: ‘If a person has lost capacity while applying for a power of attorney then you can apply to the Court of Protection, but this is a relatively complex procedure, and is not a solution if the person still has capacity.’

Causing distress

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners says the backlog has increased the uncertainty and anguish that LPAs are actually meant to reduce.

A spokesman for the society says: ‘The delays cause considerable distress for the families concerned, particularly if someone loses mental capacity while their LPA is being processed.’

Sue Martin, whose name has been changed, applied for two LPAs in February for her husband Phil, in order to be able to manage his affairs if he became unable to do so.

A few weeks later, Sue was told that her husband was terminally ill and had only four weeks left to live.

Sue contacted the OPG to cancel the applications and was told the cheques worth £164 would be returned — but three days later, both cheques were cashed.

‘When I called there were 40 people waiting on the line ahead of me,’ she says.

‘After staying on the phone for an hour and 15 minutes, I was told a refund could only be made via the post and by cheque. My husband died, the funeral had to be paid for and the refund has still not arrived.’

Reform hold-up

A bill to modernise and simplify the LPA application process passed through the House of Commons without opposition and is awaiting approval in the Lords.

However, despite overwhelming support for the Bill, it could be months until it is approved. 

Delays: A bill to modernise and simplify the LPA application process passed through the House of Commons without opposition and is awaiting approval in the Lords

A second reading of the Bill has not yet been scheduled and there are limited opportunities left before Parliament stops sitting for the summer recess.

The proposals would allow claimants to complete all parts of the application digitally, which would speed up the process. 

Those who cannot complete the application process online will still be able to submit their forms on paper.

Stephen Metcalfe, Conservative MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, who is sponsoring the Bill, says: ‘Lasting Power of Attorney is a very important document and many people cannot afford to wait 91 days to be able to give a loved one authority over their affairs. Many people apply for an LPA when they need it and need it quickly.

‘The system needs reform, which is why my Bill is so vital.’

How to apply

There are two types of Power of Attorney: one covers property and financial affairs; another health and welfare concerns. Each application costs £82 but those on means-tested benefits do not have to pay. 

LPA applications can be made online or using paper forms but all requests need to be witnessed and signed on paper.

Attorneys, witnesses and certificate providers must all sign the same original paper document and cannot sign copies online or use digital signatures.

These papers must then be sent to the OPG office in Birmingham, where they are scanned and sent for processing.

You do not have to use a solicitor to create an LPA but taking professional advice can help to avoid problems in the future.

Prices typically vary between £100 and £500.

Prevent delays

Some of the longest delays suffered by LPA applicants are due to mistakes they have made on the forms. Follow these steps to ensure that you don’t make the most common errors:

• Check the order of signatures. All LPA applications must be signed in a certain order. The donor (the person making the application) signs first, followed by the witnesses, then the certification provider (an independent authority, usually a solicitor). Attorneys sign next and finally the witness to the attorneys’ signatures signs.
• Use a black pen. All LPA papers are scanned into an online system and black ink is better recognised by the scanners than blue, so the information is transferred more efficiently.
• Don’t use correction fluid. If you make a mistake before you sign your LPA, put a cross through the error and put a correction next to it. You must sign and date the correction for it to be accepted.
• Do not staple or bind your forms. All application pages are scanned individually. Bindings and staples can damage the document when they are removed, which can mean your application is rejected.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, which oversees the OPG, says: ‘We know delays are frustrating and apologise for the distress caused.’

a.cooke@dailymail.co.uk