Southport lawyer’s call to protect pensioners from fraud

20th October 2017

A Southport solicitor has joined the fight by protective organisation Solicitors for the Elderly against proposals to fully digitise the ‘lasting power of attorney’ process.
Claire Hamilton from Kirwans law firm, is concerned that thousands of older people across the region would be put at risk of financial abuse should the plans come to fruition.

A lasting power of attorney, or LPA, is a powerful legal document that allows a person to appoint trusted individuals to make important decisions about their finances and property on their behalf. 

Under the current process, a ‘wet signature’ – the physical signing of the document – is required by individuals who wish to register an LPA. But, in a paper released last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) called for a fully digital system, whereby documents could be registered completely online.

Claire said: “I’m hugely concerned that these proposed changes could bring with them real dangers for the elderly.

“LPAs are complex documents and wield huge power, and, if the process is not carried out extremely carefully, there is the risk that people could become vulnerable to financial exploitation by those without their best interests at heart.