Under the old system for registering Enduring Powers of Attorney, in the majority of cases one received the power back from the court duly sealed approximately six weeks after lodging the application to register.


The court used to send an acknowledgement so that you knew that they had received the papers.



With the new system of Lasting Powers of Attorney, I applied to register such a power on 11 December. I received no acknowledgement but my bank statement shows that the accompanying cheque was cleared on 10 January.



Upon making enquiries as to what is happening, I am told that registration is due on 25 March. This is a case where there is no provision for third parties to be served.



This would seem to indicate that the processing time is now 15 weeks, or being charitable and deducting a week for the Christmas and New Year holidays, approximately 14 weeks. Is this an improvement?



This is not the only case. We have suffered similar delays where the relatives are becoming anxious about paying care home charges and selling houses.



RM Napier, Albinson Napier & Co, Warrington