A will is a separate document to a power of attorney. A will is only effective on your death and has no legal authority prior to that point. A power of attorney is effective whilst you are alive and allows others to act on your behalf during your lifetime.  

A power of attorney is a very important document that carries a lot of power. The Office of the Public Guardian does offer free forms that you can complete yourself, but our service offers additional support and guidance and enables you to have your document reviewed by one of our specialists.

The aim of our specialist review is to make sure your power of attorney can be used as intended when you need it to. Small errors or mistakes may go unnoticed until the rights under the power of attorney are exercised, and if mental capacity has been lost, then it is too late to make a new one.

With our service you can also contact our specialists with any questions you may have as you complete your forms.

No. We don’t register the documents for you and the registration fee is not included in the cost of our service. We have provided some information below. Please check the relevant Office of the Public Guardian to see more. 

England, Wales & Northern Ireland

Scotland

England and Wales

Each document must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used and you’ll need to pay the OPG a separate fee of up to £82 per document. GOV.UK offers a similar free service, but does not include our review.

Scotland

You’ll need to sign your power of attorney in the presence of a solicitor registered to practice law in Scotland, a practising member of the Faculty of Advocates or a registered UK medical doctor who holds a licence to practise. A fee will be payable to them, this is not part of our service and we suggest checking any fees payable. Each document must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland)before it can be used and you’ll need to pay the OPG(S) a separate fee of up to £87 per document.

Northern Ireland

Each enduring power of attorney can be used as soon as it’s signed and witnessed but it will need to be registered by your attorney with the Office of Care and Protection (OCP) when you lose mental capacity, and a separate fee of up to £151 is payable to the OCP.

No, there isn't a time limit, you are very much in control of when you complete your power of attorney .So you can start, then pause and come back when you are ready. But, now you have purchased, we suggest you complete them sooner rather than later.

Yes, you can purchase a document on behalf of someone else, so long as you have their permission, and you complete the questionnaire at their instruction.

We’re a paid-for service from Which? Ltd, part of the Which? group, which is wholly owned by the Consumers' Association, a not-for-profit organisation. Profits from our service go towards improving the service, and towards our wider mission as the UK’s consumer champion to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone.

Which? is 100% independent. With no owners, shareholders, government departments or advertisers to answer to, we work entirely on behalf of you, the consumer, and nobody else. We’re on your side.

Which? Ltd is a reputable organisation. Our wills and powers of attorney team is staffed by specialist paralegals who’ve undergone professional training in wills and powers of attorney. The team is supervised by a solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).