In recent years the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) have modernised their lasting power of attorney (LPA) processes. Last summer, the OPG introduced their ‘Use a lasting power of attorney service’ – an online service letting donors and attorneys share details of a lasting power of attorney (LPA) digitally.
Now, rather than sending paper copies, donors and attorneys can share LPA details with an organisation by granting them access to an online summary.
Following the introduction of the OPG’s online service, we are pleased to inform you that NS&I will be trialling this new process for donors and attorneys wishing to share details of an LPA with NS&I.
Currently, this new process is only available to clients who have an English or Welsh LPA, registered with the OPG on or after 1 September 2019. Other types of power of attorney, such as enduring power of attorney in Northern Ireland, are not part of this new process. Scottish documents are dealt with by the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) and are also not part of this new process.
How this service works
A donor or attorney needs to create an online account with the OPG. They can then use the OPG’s ‘Use an LPA’ service to make an access code, which they then need to pass on to individual organisations, such as NS&I. This access code allows the organisation to view an online summary of the LPA.
Donors or attorneys should post the access code provided by OPG, along with their details and the details of the NS&I account holder, to:
NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB
They should note within their letter that they intend to register an LPA with NS&I. If we do need to see the full paper document, we will write to your client to ask for this.
If you need any help please email adviser@nsandi.com or call our Adviser Helpline on 0800 092 1228.
Visit the OPG's website here