Power of Attorney fee refunds ends on 31st January 2021
Back in 2018, the Ministry of Justice announced that people who paid to register a Lasting Power of Attorney or Enduring Power of Attorney in England or Wales between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017 were owed a refund. This is because the fees charged for registering a Power of Attorney were set to £110 between those dates, even though the operating costs of the Office of the Public Guardian had decreased. The full fee reduced to £82 in April 2017 and therefore many people may be entitled to a partial refund. Interest will also be applied on top at a rate of 0.5%.
Three quarters of the refunds owed are yet to be claimed, this equates to around 1.3 million refunds due, with just days to go until the deadline.
How much you can reclaim will depend on when you registered your LPA.
You can make a claim if you’re:
- the ‘donor’ – the person who made the power of Attorney
- an ‘attorney’ – appointed by the donor in an LPA or EPA to make decisions on their behalf
The claim can be made online and should take around 10 minutes. You will need a copy of the Power of Attorney and the donor’s bank details.
If the donor has died, you can still claim the refund but you’ll need to apply by email poarefunds@justice.gsi.gov.uk or post to POA Refunds Team, 7th Floor, Office of the Public Guardian, PO Box 16185, Birmingham, B2 2WH. You’ll need to send a copy of the donor’s death certificate and will, or a grant of representation such as a grant of probate or letter of administration, along with your contact details.
The refund must be paid to the donor or their estate.
Full details and how you can make a claim can be found by following the link below: