It seems these days, everything can be done online. There are digital services available for just about anything you can think of. At Pardus Bloom, we can arrange for most documents to be electronically legalised through e-notarisation and e-apostilles. Unfortunately, the regulations for Lasting Powers of Attorney differ.
Not all documents can be electronically legalised, but some, such as educational or commercial documents, can be e-notarised with a qualified or advanced electronic signature, e-apostilled if need be and then simply sent as a PDF copy.
No courier costs, no time delays, no mislaid documents – as long as you have internet access, you have access to your e-legalised documents.
However, if you would like to register Lasting Powers of Attorney – you’re back to the dark ages I’m afraid. You’ll need to submit that in paper form, by post.
A Lasting Power of Attorney, (LPA), is a legal document that allows a person, (donor), to transfer power to an appointed attorney in the event the donor loses mental capacity.
There are two kinds of LPAs, one that transfers power over their property or finances, and another that transfers power over their healthcare and welfare.
Counterintuitively, a Lasting Power of Attorney can be entirely written online via a Government website but in order to be registered, it must be submitted to the Office of the Public Guardian in paper form by post.
As of the 1st of February 2023, the Office of the Public Guardian is requesting applicants allow up to 20 weeks for their LPAs to be registered. If there happens to be any mistakes in the document or a signature in the wrong place, you will have to reapply and potentially wait another 20 weeks.
A Private Members Bill seeking to modernise and speed up the process of registering a Lasting Power of Attorney is soon due for its final reading in the House of Lords on the 14th of September, where any final amendments to the bill can be made.
As of the 7th of September 2023, the bill has virtually sailed through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. With the most recent sitting on the 4th of July seeing no Lords object to the bill nor submit amendments, there seems to be little to stand in the way of the bill becoming law.
After the final reading in the House of Lords, any amendments made will be considered and the bill can be submitted for Royal Assent. If the bill is successfully passed and receives Royal Assent, it may allow the entire Lasting Power of Attorney process to be completed online.
At the moment, the Lasting Power of Attorney needs to be physically signed by the donor, the attorney, the certificate provider and the witness. This understandably delays the application as quite a bit of schedule shuffling needs to happen in order to have the LPA signed.
The signed Lasting Power of Attorney can then be sent off to the Office of the Public Guardian for approval, a process that can take up to 5 months.
The Government proposes that the signatories of Lasting Powers of Attorney be able to digitally sign the document through some form of identity verifying signature, such as an Advanced or Qualified Electronic Signature, (AES/QES).
Advanced or Qualified Electronic Signatures are secure signatures that are uniquely linked to each signatory. The AES/QES can detect if there have been alterations made to a document after it has been signed.
In response to the Private Members Bill, the Law Society has proposed remote witnessing of the LPA via video call, wherein the donor signs before the certificate provider. This removes the need to gather all the signatories in one place and reduces the time delay before application is possible.
This is similar to the virtual notarisation appointments we at Pardus Bloom can arrange for you.
If you require a document notarised, we can set up a video call between you, your individual case handler and one of the notaries we work with. You would simply be required to show photo ID to the camera as well as sign any necessary documents if need be.
It’s common for additional copies of your LPA to be required. For example, if your attorney needs to withdraw money from your account on your behalf, the bank will likely ask for a certified copy of the LPA as evidence that they have the power to do so.
If you would like additional copies of your LPA, a notary can certify scans of your document as true copies of the original. An LPA that has not been certified by either the donor, a solicitor or a notary may not be accepted by recipients.
If you require a certificate provider, we can arrange for a notary to act in that capacity. Please contact us in order to learn more about this service.
At Pardus Bloom, we understand your time is valuable and so we ensure there’s no need to take time out of your day to arrange an in-person appointment. We’re able to arrange virtual notarisation appointments via WhatsApp video call or Zoom between yourself, your individual case handler and one of the notaries we work with.
We understand document legalisation can be a confusing, painful process.
Your individual case handler will be with you every step of the way, doing their utmost to simplify a complicated process and keeping you updated on the progress of your documents.
We will ensure you receive a scan of the completed work for your records before delivery is arranged via postage, couriers or international shipping.
Need a document legalised urgently? Don’t have the time to travel to our offices? We’re here to help. We can arrange express notarisation and apostille services within one day, provided your document arrives with us before 11 am, Monday to Friday.
Not sure what services you need exactly? Send us an enquiry with a description of your needs and we’ll see what we can do.