What is a Certificate Provider in a Lasting Power of Attorney?

What is a Certificate Provider?

A Certificate Provider is a person the Donor chooses to complete the Certificate in a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) form. You can read more about the different types of Lasting Power of Attorneys (Property & Financial Affairs and Health & Welfare) here and here.

Who can be a Certificate Provider?

Certificate Providers must be:

• Someone who has known the Donor personally for at least 2 years, e.g. a friend, neighbour, colleague or former colleague; or
• Someone with relevant professional skills, e.g. the Donor’s GP, a healthcare professional or a solicitor.

A Certificate Provider cannot be:

• An Attorney or replacement Attorney named in the LPA;
• A member of the Donor’s or Attorneys’ family or extended family;
• An unmarried partner, boyfriend or girlfriend of either the Donor or one of the Attorneys (whether or not they live at the same address);
• A business partner or paid employee of the Donor or an Attorney;
• An owner, manager, director or employee of a care home where the Donor lives.

Being a Certificate Provider is a very important role and you must fully understand before agreeing to undertake it. It is important that if you are asked to be a Certificate Provider you consider whether you have the skills and expertise necessary to undertake the certification process.

Why do I need a Certificate Provider?

The purpose of the Certificate Provider is to confirm that the Donor understands the content of the LPAs and the implications of appointing the persons they are giving authority to when signing the LPAs. The Certificate Provider must be satisfied that the Donor is not being pressured to create the LPAs or being put under any pressure to prepare the documents.

Importantly, the Certificate Provider must be satisfied that the Donor has the mental capacity to prepare the LPAs in accordance with The Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The Certificate is a vital part of the LPA form, without it the LPA is not valid and cannot be registered by the Office of the Public Guardian.

How Can We Help?

Here at Johnson Astills, our solicitors are often able to act as Certificate Provider when preparing LPAs on your behalf. In the event that there is concern surrounding your understanding or mental capacity, we may ask a medical professional to assess whether you can prepare LPAs, and subsequently act as Certificate Provider.

Although you can prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney without the assistance of a solicitor, it is a legal document with many risks involved. Here at Johnson Astills, we can assist you by advising in relation to all sections of the LPAs and subsequently preparing them on your behalf, ensuring proper care and due diligence. Should you wish to prepare LPAs or discuss this further, please feel free to call our expert solicitors at Johnson Astills who would be pleased to assist you with this. You can call us at our office in Leicester or our office in Loughborough. Alternatively, you may prefer to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.