The UKs population is ageing and demand for Powers of Attorney and other guardianship advice is on the rise, as well as the demand for Will writing services. Research suggests that demand has grown by 5.6% in 2022 and will grow by roughly 5% a year by 2026. The market will eventually be worth a reported £3bn.
A report by IRN Research suggested the number of applications to register a power of attorney in England and Wales has resumed its growth, post-pandemic, increasing by 12.5% in the first half of 2022.
Whilst there’s been difficulties, with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) being under resourced and not able to effectively meet demand, there are plans to recruit a further 100 staff. Which the OPG hopes will improve the process and speed of administration.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is also looking to digitise this process to enhance the process even further. The idea being that solicitors who currently access paper forms through their document management system would use the same system to complete and submit LPAs online.
Improvements are being made across the board, initiatives Solicitors will no doubt welcome. But Solicitors can support the streamlining of this process too by using document automation systems.
Arken’s Will writing software, Arken Professional, also supports the drafting of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and General Powers of Attorney (GPAs), along with a whole host of other important estate planning documentation. Using document automation software helps to drive consistency in wording, branding and document management. It also assists with the speed of completion as you can use information input for other documents like Wills and all the estate planning documents are all in one place. This all makes the administration of the estate planning process much simpler and quicker. This means that Solicitors and estate planners can spend more of their billable hours on advising new and existing clients, rather than on admin.
For more detail, watch the video below on how to draft a Lasting Power of Attorney in Arken Professional or book a call to find out more.