Since the launch of the government’s “Use an LPA” online service in July 2020, more than two million LPAs – Lasting Powers of Attorney – have been registered.
The growth in numbers of people making a Lasting Power of Attorney online, either themselves or through a professional service like //powerofattorneyonline.co.uk/, is clear evidence of the public’s appetite for digital management of important legal documents. The increasing popularity of “Use an LPA” seems to confirm this.
How it works
“Use an LPA” allows donors and attorneys to give organisations, such as banks and healthcare providers, secure online access to see the details of an LPA. The information that can be viewed includes details of who is acting as attorney, how decisions are made, and any specific preferences expressed by the donor. The idea of the service is to make verification faster and easier, replacing the need to share paper documents with an easily accessible digital alternative.
Getting started
Before they can use the service, donors and attorneys need an activation key and LPA reference number which are issued once the LPA is registered. After creating a gov.uk One Login account and adding their LPA, they can generate one-off secure access codes to share with appropriate organisations. It also allows users to monitor which organisations have viewed the LPA.
The platform is being constantly improved, thanks in part to customer feedback. The Office of the Public Guardian says it remains committed to the modernisation of its services and will ensure that “Use an LPA” keeps pace with the evolving needs of its users.
Leave a Reply