More than 50,000 power of attorney applications rejected

More than 50,000 power of attorney applications were rejected last year, with families risking delays and duplicate fees because of spelling mistakes, poor handwriting and incorrect information.
A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that allows you to nominate a trusted person (the attorney) to act on your behalf if you no longer have the capacity to manage your financial or medical affairs. More than eight million agreements are registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), the government body that approves or declines applications and checks for fraud and abuse.
Powers of attorney have become increasingly common amid a rise in cognitive conditions such as dementia. In 2023-24 there were more than 1.37 million applications for lasting power of attorney, a jump of almost a third compared with the previous year.
But tens of thousands of applicants are making mistakes on the paperwork, leading to rejection by the OPG. It refused 50,918 power of attorney applications in 2023-24, of which more than 30,000 were to manage finances and property and 20,700 for health and welfare, according to data obtained by the wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown through a freedom of information request.
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Sarah Coles from Hargreaves said: “A lasting power of attorney can make an enormous difference for you and your loved ones if an accident or medical condition means that you are unable to make decisions for yourself — but only if the application is successful.”
The OPG aims to process applications within eight weeks, although last year it took an average of 76 working days — about 15 weeks. This can cause significant distress for families, especially if the health of the person granting the power (the donor) is deteriorating rapidly.
Lawyers say processing times have improved, but it is still important to get an application right the first time. It costs £82 to have each type of power of attorney registered.
Coles said some of the most common application mistakes included misspelt names, missing information and illegible handwriting.
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“You need to complete every section of the application. Sometimes people won’t fully understand the section on how they want attorneys to act, so they leave it blank, which means the application will be rejected.
“Likewise if they can’t read your handwriting or understand your corrections, they will reject it,” she said.
The application must not include conflicting or confusing instructions and an attorney cannot be given the power to change a will. Mistakes on a form must be clearly crossed out, corrected and marked with the initials of the person who made the mistake. Trying to hide the mistake with correction fluid falls foul of the rules.
The forms must be signed in a specific order, first by the power of attorney donor, then by a “certificate provider” — someone who is not a relative but has known the donor for at least two years, or a professional such as a GP or solicitor who can confirm that the donor is acting of their own free will and understands the legal implications. The attorney is the last to sign, and each signature must be witnessed.
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The OPG said: “We offer online guidance on how to make an application and our service also flags potential issues before submission — reducing the risk of errors and delays. We are confident our registration times will return to our target of 40 days in the coming month.”