Advice about legal costs - Power of Attorney

[salmonsteve]

Looking for an idea of costs to set up a Power of Attorney?

I live overseas and my parents are in the UK. My father went to a local solicitor and asked to set up power of attorney over my mother as she is in the final stages of Parkinsons & Dementia.

My dad has just informed me the lawyer did this for him, and he's been charged 900 pounds.

Is that normal? I did a quick search online and found that I could of done it for them for 82 pounds.

I have emailed the solicitors and asked for a break down of the invoice.

Is this normal in the UK?

[Peridot]

Hi Salmonsteve,
The costs can vary, a lasting power of attorney (LPA) can be dealt with by the person wishing to appoint an attorney on line which would then incur a registration fee about £82 I believe. If a lawyer is instructed to prepare the forms rather than taking the DIY option via the on-line route then they will of course charge for their time. In my experience if this is for a single LPA it is at the higher end of fees charged, but there are a number of factors to consider. What sort of Power of Attorney and if it was a Lasting Power of Attorney was it both types in relation to property and finance and also health and welfare.

This link may help explain the types: - https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

If this was a different type of power of attorney that may affect the price too. My main concern however is that you mention that your mother is in the final stages of Parkinson's and Dementia, so it may be that she does not have sufficient capacity to instruct anyone to create any sort of power of attorney, lasting or otherwise. If that is the case then it may have been necessary to apply to the Court of Protection for your father to be appointed a Deputy in order to deal with your mother's affairs. This would be significantly more expensive.

I hope that helps clarify things.

[des8]

two year old thread