Lasting Powers of Attorney
What we do – Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)
The Lasting Powers of Attorney grant is available to fund the cost of making and registering one property and financial affairs LPA (Finance LPA)
and one health and welfare LPA (Health LPA).
The grant is available to the beneficiary (former employee of MBC), their spouse/partner and any dependent children over the age of 18 years.
Application guidance:
You must apply for this grant in advance of incurring any legal costs. Retrospective applications will NOT be considered.
The grant will only be awarded where the LPA(s) is prepared and registered by a qualified solicitor or legal executive at a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
If you choose to make your own LPA or do not instruct a firm that meets the above requirements, you will not be eligible to apply for a grant.
The grant is capped at maximum award of £500 per LPA (i.e. if a beneficiary wishes to make a finance LPA and health LPA they will receive a maximum of £1,000).
This cap has been decided upon based on extensive market research of the average cost of professionally prepared LPAs. If a beneficiary instructs a firm of solicitors to prepare the LPA(s) for a lower cost or if the beneficiary is able to take advantage of a firm’s offer to do mirror LPAs at a reduced rate, the grant awarded will be capped at the firm’s actual charges (not exceeding £500 per LPA).
The grant is to cover the firm’s fees for advising on and preparing the LPA(s), arranging to register the LPAs with the Office of the Public Guardian and any VAT charged (the total of these costs are not to exceed £500 per LPA).
In addition, a further grant of up to £82 per LPA may be awarded (up to a maximum of £164 per person) to cover the Office of the Public Guardian’s registration fees.
Applications for this will only be considered if the beneficiary does not qualify for an exemption from the LPA registration fees. Your legal advisor will confirm if this applies to you.
Please note that due to anti-money laundering regulations the solicitor will not be able to accept direct payment of your invoice from the BTPF. This means you will need to pay for the LPA and any registration fees upfront.
To evidence the expenditure, you must obtain an invoice from your solicitor which confirms the beneficiary’s/spouse’s or dependent’s names and confirms the service is for the preparation and registration of LPAs.
The grant will only be available to each beneficiary once. It is the beneficiary’s legal advisor’s duty to properly advise the beneficiary and ensure the LPA is prepared on a sufficiently flexible basis.
It is the beneficiary’s and legal advisor’s duty to ensure the LPA is valid and BTPF will not provide further funds to redo or amend LPAs where a mistake has been made (regardless of the reason).
[If the application is for the spouse or partner of the former employee of Mansfield Brewery, the application form for SPOUSE should be completed. A copy of the marriage certificate, and current (within a maximum of two months) utility bill or other official documentation evidencing that the spouse/partner and former employee live together, should be sent with the completed application form.]
[If the application is for a dependent child of the former employee of Mansfield Brewery, the application form for DEPENDENT should be completed…]
If you have any difficulty in completing your application, please contact us and a member of our team will be happy to help you.
You will receive an acknowledgment of receipt of your application normally within one week of receipt.
Grant decision
Applications are sent to the trustees on a weekly basis and a response is usually provided within approximately two/three weeks although you should be aware that at times it may take longer.
Confirmation, in writing, of the outcome of your application, will be sent as soon as a decision is given by the Trustees. If a grant is awarded, details of how to reclaim the costs of your LPA will be included in the grant offer letter.
Grants are discretionary
You should note that all grants are discretionary, and the trustees review their policies regarding the allocation of benefits regularly. This means that grants can be added and withdrawn at any time by the trustees.
As trustees of a discretionary settlement, the trustees cannot give a commitment to provide benefits indefinitely.
Application form
If you wish to apply for a grant, you can download the printable application form by clicking the link Lasting Power of Attorney