At the start of February, the Ministry of Justice announced that they have launched the OPG fee refund scheme. This means that many people can now claim a refund for their Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) registration fee.
The refunds are being offered to those people whose Enduring Powers of Attorney and Lasting Powers of Attorney were registered between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017.
The amount that you can claim back will depend upon the date of the application but it is typically between £34 and £54. A full table of dates and the amount of refund you can expect to receive is available at www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund.
You can make a claim if you are the person who made the power of attorney (the donor) or if you are an attorney appointed under the power of attorney. Claims can either be made online or by telephone if you do not have online access by calling 0300 456 0300 and choosing option 6. It is important to note that if the donor has already died the claim must be made by phone.
The reason for the refunds is that during the period from October 2013 to March 2017 the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) operating costs came down as more people applied to register a power of attorney and the process became more efficient. The application fees charged were not reduced in line with this.
For more details on Lasting Powers of Attorney please contact our Wills and Probate Department on 01785 60306
