The Land Registry has confirmed it will accept lasting powers of attorney certified by legal executive lawyers for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CILEx (the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) has called on the government to make the change permanent.
Under the Power of Attorney Act 1971, only solicitors and notaries public can certify copies of powers of attorney. However, CILEx contends that the exclusion of its members causes unnecessary delay and confusion. According to a CILEx survey of its members practising in wills and probate, the anomaly creates problems about ten times a month on average, resulting in delays for clients during a distressing time.
The research also found it had a negative effect on firms’ quality of service―75% said it caused delays―client satisfaction and fees.
One respondent said: ‘My clients do not understand why I cannot offer this service myself.
‘If I am qualified to act as a certificate provider and also to prepare the lasting power of attorney, then why am I not able to certify that a document is a true copy of an original document that I have already prepared?’
Another respondent said: ‘We can now become partners of law firms, have rights of audience in the courts, become judges, swear oaths as a Commissioner for Oaths, but we cannot certify a lasting power of attorney as a true copy of a page of the original document?’
CILEx chair Chris Bones (pictured) said: ‘We urge the government to take measures to make this a permanent arrangement.
‘Modernising practice in this way helps ensure affordable and timely access to legal services, particularly for the more than one million people especially susceptible to COVID-19. Our research shows how this outdated legislation is causing real people real problems, in an environment where concerns are already accentuated by the current pandemic.’
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