Closed petition Introduce new rules on who can witness and be a certificate provider for an LPA

Closed on 30 May 2024

We want the Government to make it so:

1. Witnesses must be completely independent, and not be related in any way to either the donor or any of the proposed Attorneys.
2. Certificate providers must be medically qualified to assess the donor's cognitive abilities and understanding.

We believe that it is too easy to obtain lasting power of attorney, and that unscrupulous individuals can take advantage of and manufacture the appearance of genuinely looking out for the best interests of an elderly or vulnerable individual, when in fact they have other motives. We are concerned that some of those people, who are often trusted family members, go on to abuse the power that these legal documents give them, including by manipulation, fraud, forgery, theft, misappropriation of estate funds and Breach of Fiduciary Duty.