Lasting Power Of Attorney In Singapore Guide: LPA Steps & Cost
4 min readGetting a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in Singapore.
Hello, it’s me again, Uncle Tng. This is part 3 of the wills article hor. Although not directly related to will writing, getting a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is equally important to know. More and more Singaporeans are doing it, so should you. Being kiasu in this case is good!
Simi see LPA? Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document which allows a person who is at least 21 years of age ('donor'), to voluntarily appoint one or more persons ('donee(s)') to make decisions and carry out specific instructions on his behalf if he loses his mental abilities one day.
A donee can be appointed to act in these two areas of personal welfare and property & affairs matters.
Image source: Giphy
LPA Benefits
Lasting Power of Attorney allows you to choose a trusted decision maker who is reliable and competent to act in your best interest should you become mentality unable to. This takes away the stress faced by your wife or children from applying for a Deputyship Order, if you become incapacitated without an LPA.
LPA Costs
Please note hor: The OPG (Office of Public Guardian – (don’t worry, it’s a “Cheng Hu” agency, so they won’t play play one) has extended the LPA Form 1 application fee waiver for Singapore citizens to 31 March 2023. This is to encourage more Singaporeans to plan ahead and apply for a Lasting Power of Attorney. Don’t worry about what is LPA Form 1 (There’s also Form 2). All will be explained clearly when you hit their website shown below.
Another fee which you must pay is a fee to engage an LPA Certificate Issuer to witness and certify their applications.
Img source: Giphy
Important Role of the LPA Certificate Issuer
The LPA Certificate Issuer (CI) is very crucial person hor. The CI is usually a legal person like a lawyer. He will sign on the LPA Form as a witness for you, the Donor, certifying that you have the mental capacity to make an LPA, that you understand the purpose of the LPA and the scope of authority granted to your Donees.
The LPA CI also ensures that there is no fraud or undue influence used to induce you, the Donor, to make the LPA.
But hor, to prevent a conflict of interest, a person will be disqualified from giving an LPA Certificate if that person is
- A family member of the donor;
- A donee* of that power
- A donee* of any other lasting power of attorney which has been executed by the donor (whether or not it has been revoked);
- A family member of a donee* under (2) and (3);
- A director or an employee of a person other than an individual acting as a donee* under (2) and (3);
- A business partner or an employee of –
- The donor; or
- A donee* under (2) and (3);
- An owner, a director, a manager or an employee of any care facility where the donor lives or is cared for when LPA is executed; or
- A family member of a person under (9) also cannot be a CI.
*"Donee" includes a “replacement donee".
Protecting your assets and welfare with an LPA
The LPA is a crucial step in ensuring that you have a trust person to carry out your all your business affairs and assets when you are mentally no longer able to. Very serious hor. Don’t play play, but be prepared! That’s the best policy!
P.S. I got most of my info from here.
The Patriach of the Tng family, Uncle Tng is a Grab driver with the gift of the gab. He’s loud, always trying to help and still uses the terms “Internet” and “Chat room”. As he sees himself as an experienced man of the world, he’s often sharing his worldly views, whether you are interested or not.