Registration fee refunds - Lasting & Enduring Powers of Attorney

You may have seen in the news recently that the Ministry of Justice announced it has launched a scheme where those who paid a registration fee for a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) in England and Wales can apply for a partial refund. It is estimated that up to 2 million people could be entitled to a refund. 

If you registered an LPA or an EPA between 1st April 2013 and 31st March 2017 you could be entitled to a refund of up to £54 for each LPA/EPA registered. If a couple registered both Property & Financial Affairs and Health & Welfare LPAs, the couple could be entitled to a refund of up to £216.

How much you get depends on when you paid the fees. You’ll also get 0.5% interest.

You can still claim a refund even if you don’t know when you paid the fees.

When you paid the fee

Refund for each LPA/EPA

April to September 2013

£54

October 2013 to March 2014

£34

April 2014 to March 2015

£37

April 2015 to March 2016

£38

April 2016 to March 2017

£45

Those who registered LPAs/EPAs during this period were charged higher court fees than was deemed necessary to run the Office of the Public Guardian. The application fee was not reduced to take account of this until April 2017, so a refund is now available.

The application for a refund can be made by the donor or an attorney and the easiest way to apply is online https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund. You will need the donor’s UK bank account number and sort code. It is possible to apply by telephone if you do not have internet access (0300 456 0300 - choose option 6). You must claim by phone if the donor doesn’t have a UK bank account, the donor has died or you are a court appointed deputy.  Once a claim has been made it, can take up to 12 weeks to be processed. If it is approved, the refund will be made to the donor’s bank account.

For more details on making Lasting Powers of Attorney please contact Sarah Mace in our Private Client Department by phone on 01603 724690 or by email at privateclient@cozens-hardy.com

 

To find out more, call us on: 01603 625231