The Ministry of Justice has announced that from 1 February 2018 it will be offering partial refunds on Power of Attorney registration fees. If you applied for registration of an Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017 you may be eligible for a refund of part of your application fee.
This refund is due to the reduction in operating costs at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) as the process of applying for registration of a Power of Attorney became more efficient. During this time the application fee of £110 was not reduced in line with operating costs. The Ministry of Justice revised the application fee to £82 with effect from 1st April 2017 and has now introduced this refund scheme to reimburse those who paid the higher fee before this date.
To claim a refund you must be either the ‘donor’ – the person who made the Power of Attorney, or the ‘attorney’ – the person appointed by the donor in a Power of Attorney, and the refund must be paid to the donor. The amount of refund you will receive will vary depending on when you paid the initial fees. However, if the full application fee was paid, you can expect to receive between £34 and £54 including 0.5% interest.
Claims can be made online or by telephone and may take up to 12 weeks to be processed. You will need the donor’s UK bank account number and sort code to receive the refund, once approved. To claim your refund you can apply online here. You will also find more information about the application process and how to apply by telephone by following this link.
For more information about the registration fee refund or putting a Lasting Power of Attorney in place please contact the Thompson Smith and Puxon Wills and Estates team on 01206 574431 or by email at info@tsplegal.com.
