What order must an LPA be signed in?

The mandatory signing order

Under the Lasting Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Public Guardian Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/1253) regulation 9, the order is: 1) the donor signs section 9, and on an LP1H also section 5, witnessed; 2) the certificate provider signs section 10, only after the donor, with no witness needed; 3) each attorney and each replacement attorney signs section 11, only after the certificate provider, each witnessed; 4) the applicant signs section 15, only after sections 9, 10 and 11.

Dates must run in order

The dates must run non-decreasing through section 9 to 10 to 11 to 15. A section 10 date earlier than section 9 is fatal. Continuation sheets signed by the donor must bear the same date as section 9. Same-day signing is permitted and is the safest option.

What if the order is wrong

In Re Sporne the Court of Protection refused to accept an LPA signed in the wrong order, calling it a significant procedural error. The whole form must be re-executed from scratch on a fresh form. If the donor has lost mental capacity by then, it can never be fixed, and the family is forced into a Court of Protection deputyship application at £421 plus supervision fees and typically 4 to 12 months.

Ambiguous dates

Ambiguous handwritten dates (a 5 that could be an 8, a 0 that could be a 6 or 9) are a documented rejection cause. An overwritten date is fatal. Write dates clearly in DD/MM/YYYY.

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