Following a review of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which introduced lasting powers of attorney in 2007, new forms are to be introduced in October 2009.

The new lasting power of attorney forms follow on from the consultation ‘Reviewing the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005: forms, supervision and fees’ to which the Government published its response in March 2009. There will also be a new fees structure.

The consultation was the initial stage of an investigation into the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act.

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has redesigned the forms to:

• be more streamlined with no tick boxes,

• be written in plainer English and,
• include completion guidance notes in the margins of the forms.
Note: The postal address for the OPG has changed and since 5 May 2009 OPG customers should send ALL post to the following address:

Office of the Public Guardian
PO Box 15118
Birmingham
B16 6GX

Some of the LPA forms and guidance notes have been updated to show the new address.