Are you eligible for a refund on your power of attorney fees?

The UK government is offering a refund of up to £54 to individuals who have previously applied to register a power of attorney.

A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that allows people to nominate a trusted friend or relative to make financial decisions on their behalf in old age or if they become incapacitated.

The refunds are being offered to hundreds of thousands of people who were charged more than was necessary to apply to register lasting or enduring powers of attorney between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017.

During this period, the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) operating costs came down as more people applied to register a power of attorney and the process became more efficient, but the application fee charged was not reduced in line with this.

The Ministry of Justice is only supposed to charge only enough to cover the cost of providing the service, but the large number of applications meant it made a £89m surplus, which it now needs to repay.

You can make a claim using the online service at https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney-refund. Only one form needs to be completed for each donor and OPG will find all power of attorney application fees paid by the donor during the qualifying period.

For advice, please telephone the Gales Solicitors office on 01202 512227.