Lasting Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney ( LPA ) refers to a legal document, signed by a person who is at least 21 years old, to voluntarily appoint 1 or more persons to act and make decisions on his behalf as his proxy decision maker if he should lose mental capacity one day. The person initiating the LPA is called the ‘donor’, since he ‘donates’ his legal right for decision making to the other person(s). The proxy decision maker is called a ‘donee’. There are 2 main areas of decision-making which are covered by the LPA – personal welfare, as well as property & affairs matters.

Why should I make an LPA?

An LPA is an important pre-planning tool which allows you to protect your interests by indicating your preferred choice of a proxy decision maker(s). With the LPA, you can choose someone trustworthy, dependable and competent to make decisions on your behalf should you be unable to do so when you lose mental capacity.

By planning ahead, it reduces the stress and difficulties faced by your loved ones if you should lose mental capacity.

A separate, but equally important, pre-planning tool to consider is the Advanced Medical Directive. You can find out more about the AMD here.

How do I make an LPA?

Before making the LPA, you may wish to have a look at the website of the Office of the Public Guardian. The website provides write-ups and even instructional videos on making the LPA.

There are several steps to making the LPA. These are summarised as follows:

1) Decide which LPA form applies to you. Most people will use LPA Form 1, which is the standard form. Form 2 is for those who prefer to customise the powers to be granted to the donee. This will require the services of a lawyer. Complete your part of the the LPA form.

2) See a certificate issuer. In our context, this will be the accredited medical doctor. The certificate issuer needs to ascertain that

You understand the purpose of the LPA and the scope of authority conferred under it.
There is no fraud or undue pressure on you to create the LPA
There is nothing else that would prevent the LPA from being created

3) Submit the relevant documents to the Office of the Public Guardian ( OPG ), which includes :-

Completed LPA Form ( either Form 1 or Form 2 )
Completed Application Form for LPA.
NRIC of donor [original and clear photocopy of front & back of NRIC]
NRIC of donee(s) [clear photocopy of front & back of NRIC]
NRIC of replacement donee(s) (if any) [clear photocopy of front & back of NRIC]

4) Pay the application fee. This fee is $50 for Form 1 if you are Singaporean. If you are neither Singaporean nor PR, or if you are using Form 2 instead, the cost is $200. Please note that this fee is paid to the the Office of Public Guardian. Our clinic does not collect the application fee on behalf of OPG. Charges collected by our clinic are only for our role as certificate issuer.