Claim a Power of Attorney Refund

The Office of the Public Guardian has announced a scheme to allow applicants to claim part of their application fee back if they applied to register a Power of attorney between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017.

This scheme applies to Lasting Powers of Attorney and Enduring Powers of Attorney in England and Wales.

Who can claim a refund?

You can make a claim if you are:

  • the donor – the person who made the power of attorney
  • an attorney – a person appointed by the donor in an LPA or EPA

The refund must be paid to the donor.

You will only need to make one claim per donor, even if the donor made more than one type of power of attorney.

How much you’ll get

How much you get depends on when you paid the fees.  You will also be paid 0.5% interest.

You can still claim a refund even if you do not know exactly when you paid the fees.

When you paid the feeRefund for each power of attorney
April 2013 to September 2013£54
October 2013 to March 2014£34
April 2014 to March 2015£37
April 2015 to March 2016£38
April 2016 to March 2017£45

If you paid a reduced fee (“remission”), you receive half of the refund amount.

How to claim

 Claims should be made online at https://claim-power-of-attorney-refund.service.gov.uk/start.

It only takes a couple of minutes.  You will need to have the power of attorney and the donor’s bank details to hand.

You must claim by telephone if:

  • the donor does not have a UK bank account
  • the donor has died
  • you are a court appointed deputy

If you do not have access to a computer you can contact the Refunds Helpline by telephone on 0300 456 0300 (option 6).  The helpline is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9 am to 5 pm and Wednesday 10 am to 5 pm.

The Office of the Public Guardian estimates it can take up to 12 weeks for a claim to be processed.

If your claim is approved, the refund will be paid to the donor’s bank account.

You can appeal a decision if your claim is rejected – contact the Refund Helpline.

If you or your family require any advice on the matter please do not hesitate to contact our Wills, Probate and Trusts team on 0191 5670465 or by email on [email protected]

We would be more than happy to arrange an appointment with you in our offices or in your own home to talk through your requirements.

We have members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and Solicitors for the Elderly.

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