FAQ

What are the criteria to qualify someone to make an LPA?

The requirements for making an LPA are:

• You must be at least 21 years old
• You must have the mental capacity to make the LPA
• You must not be an undischarged bankrupt.

For the LPA to be valid, it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

How about children with intellectual disabilities? Can an LPA be made for them?

An LPA can only be made by a person with mental capacity.

Parents of children with intellectual disability may apply to the Court to be appointed deputies if the children are likely to be still lacking in capacity after 21 years of age.

The parents may also apply to the Court to appoint successor deputies as future decision-makers for their children with intellectual disability in the event the parents are no longer around or are unable to make those decisions.

What if I lose mental capacity without having made an LPA?

If you do not make an LPA and subsequently lose your mental capacity to make certain decisions, the Mental Capacity Act allows someone else to apply to the Court to either:

• make the specific decisions for you, or
• appoint one or more persons to be your deputy to make the decision for you.

Can I cancel (revoke) my LPA after it is registered?

Yes, you can, at any time when you have the mental capacity, cancel (revoke) your LPA.

What do I have to do?

1.    Sign a revocation form

2.    Notify every donee of the revocation

• This is a requirement of the Mental Capacity Regulations (S105/2010).
• Unless the donee has notice of the revocation, he may be protected if he acts under the LPA when the donor loses capacity.

3.    Notify the Public Guardian of the revocation

• This is a requirement of the Mental Capacity Regulations (S105/2010)
• Submit in person to the Office of the Public Guardian -
  (a) the completed revocation form
  (b) the cancellation fee ($25.00) and
  (c) the following items for cancellation -
  > the original LPA;
  > any office copy; and
  > the donee card(s).

4.    You may also wish to give notice of the revocation to any person that you have previously informed about the LPA (eg. your bank or other financial institution, CPF Board, etc).

What will the Public Guardian do?

• The Public Guardian will cancel the registration of the LPA if he is satisfied that the donor has taken the necessary steps to revoke the LPA. The Public Guardian may require the donor to provide further information or produce such documents as the Public Guardian considers necessary.
• The Public Guardian will give notice of the cancellation of the registration to the donor and each donee.
• The LPA Reference Number of the revoked LPA and the donee unique identity number of each donee will be uploaded on the List of Revoked LPAs and the List of Revoked Donee UID Numbers on OPG's website.

Are there other situations where my LPA or the donee's powers will be cancelled?

Apart from your cancellation of your LPA, it will be cancelled or the appointment of the donee will be terminated in the following circumstances:

• you or your donee dies.
• your donee lacks mental capacity to act as a donee.
• your donee formally declines the appointment as a donee (see Disclaimer by a donee of a Lasting Power of Attorney (OPG Form D1)).
• there is a divorce between your donee and you, applicable if your donee is your spouse and you have not stated otherwise in your LPA.
• you or your donee becomes a bankrupt or if your donee is a licensed trust company, the company is liquidated, wound up, dissolved or under judicial management (Note: this applies to the property & affairs donee only).
• a Court order is made to cancel the LPA or your donee's powers – this can happen if your donee has not acted in your best interest. 

What happens if one of these events occurs that affects my LPA?

The Public Guardian must be informed of the occurrence of the event. The original LPA (and any office copies) and the donee card(s) must be returned to the Office of the Public Guardian.

• if the LPA is cancelled becuase of the occurrence of the event, the Public Guardian will cancel the registration of the LPA and inform the donor and/or the donee(s) of the cancellation. The donee's unique identity number will be cancelled.
• if the power of any donee is terminated in any way but the LPA is not cancelled, the Public Guardian will add a note on the original LPA (and any office copies). The LPA reference number and the donee's unique identity number will be cancelled and a new LPA reference number will be given; a new donee unique identity number will be assigned to any remaining donee or replacement donee and the new donee card(s) will be issued.

 

Illustration 1

You have made an LPA appointing 2 donees, D1 and D2, to act jointly and severally in respect of both personal welfare and property & affairs. D1 becomes a bankrupt.

• D1's power in respect of property & affairs is cancelled because of his bankruptcy. However his power in respect of personal welfare is unchanged and remains valid.
• D2's powers for both personal and welfare and property & affairs continue to be valid.
• Your LPA and the donee cards have to be returned to the Office of the Public Guardian.
• The Public Guardian will add a note on your LPA that D1's power in respect of property & affairs has been terminated.
• The LPA reference number will be cancelled and a new LPA reference number will be assigned to the LPA. A new donee card with new unique identity numbers will be issued for D1 and D2.

Illustration 2

You have made an LPA appointing 1 donee, D1, with powers to make decisions in respect of property & affairs only. You have also named R1 to be the replacement donee in the event D1 is unable to act. D1 passed away.

• Upon D1's death, your LPA will be affected.
• Your LPA and D1's donee card have to be returned to the Office of the Public Guardian.
• As R1 will replace D1 as your donee, a passport-size photograph of R1 has to be submitted to the Office of the Public Guardian to issue a new donee card.
• The Public Guardian will add a note on your LPA that D1 has died and R1 has replaced him.
• The LPA reference number and D1's unique identity number will be cancelled. Your LPA will have a new LPA reference number and a new donee card will be issued for R1.

The lists of revoked numbers are available for your reference:

• Revoked Donee UID Number
• Revoked LPAs

How many donees can I have?

You can appoint one or more donees. There is no maximum number of donees that can be appointed.

However, you may not want to appoint too many donees as complications may arise when these donees cannot agree on the decisions to be made. You should choose donees that are willing to work together so that differences in opinions may be resolved amicably, thereby avoiding any deadlock.

Who can be my donee?

The donee should be someone trustworthy, reliable and competent to make decisions that you have authorised.

A personal welfare donee must be an individual who is at least 21 years old when the LPA is signed. The donee must be a person; (e.g. “Fiona Fernandez”), and not a job title; (e.g. “my lawyer”).

A company or business cannot be appointed as a personal welfare donee.
 
A property & affairs donee must:

• Be an individual who is at least 21 years old when the LPA is signed, or
• Be a licensed trust company as prescribed by the Mental Capacity Regulations.
• Be an individual who is not an undischarged bankrupt

What types of decisions can my donee make on my behalf?

The decisions your donee will be able to make will depend on the powers you have provided him with in your LPA.

Your donee may be authorised to make decisions regarding:
a. Personal welfare (including health care decisions) and/or
b. Property & affairs (including finance matters)

You may choose to give him
a. general powers for all your personal welfare and/or property & affairs
b. only specific powers as indicated in your LPA

• There are two versions of LPA available to cater to the different needs of individuals:
  • LPA-Form 1 contains mostly checkboxes for donors to grant general powers to their donees with the option to select basic conditions or restrictions to these powers. This form can be self-completed by the donors.
  • LPA-Form 2 contains mostly free text spaces where individuals can give specific powers to their needs. This form is to be drafted by a lawyer. The LPA will be made by the donor when he or she has the capacity to do so. However, the authority granted under the LPA to a donee will not be effective until the time the person loses mental capacity.

The LPA will be made by the donor when he or she has the capacity to do so. However, the authority granted under the LPA to a donee will not be effective until the time the person loses mental capacity.

What types of decisions are covered under personal welfare matters?

In general, a personal welfare donee helps to make decisions on behalf of the donor, relating to matters such as where the donor should stay and his daily activities.

The types of decisions and actions a personal welfare donee may be authorised to make include:

• where the donor should live, 
• who the donor should live with, 
• day to day care decisions (e.g. what to wear and eat), 
• what social activities to take part in, 
• handling the donor’s personal correspondence, and 
• whom the donor may have contact with.

The list above contains some examples of the types of decisions and actions a personal welfare donee may make but it is not a complete list. 

The personal welfare donee’s appointment is cancelled if the: 

• donor or donee dies, 
• marriage between the donor and donee is dissolved or annulled unless the LPA itself specifically provides that it will not, 
• donee formally refuses the appointment, or 
• donee lacks mental capacity.

However, the LPA is not cancelled and remains valid if there is a replacement donee appointed under it or there is one or more surviving donee(s) appointed to act jointly and severally on any matter.

The power conferred by the LPA will be cancelled if the LPA appoints two or more donees to act jointly and the power to one of those donees is cancelled.

What types of decisions are covered under property & affairs matters?

In general, a property & affairs donee helps to make decisions on behalf of the donor relating to his financial matters such as managing his bank account and property.

The types of decisions a property & affairs donee may be authorised to make include: 

• dealing with property – buying, selling, renting and mortgaging property, 
• opening, closing and operating bank accounts, 
• receiving dividends, income, or other financial entitlements on behalf of the donor, 
• handling tax matters, 
• paying the rent, mortgage repayments and household expenses, 
• investing the donor’s savings, and 
• purchasing a vehicle or other equipment the donor needs

The list above contains some examples of the types of decisions and actions a property & affairs donee may make but it is not a complete list. 

The property & affairs donee’s appointment is cancelled if the: 

• donor or donee dies 
• donor or becomes a bankrupt, 
• donee is a trust company whose licence has lapsed or been revoked or is liquidated, wound-up, dissolved or under judicial management, 
• marriage between the donor and donee is dissolved or annulled unless the LPA itself specifically provides that it will not, 
• donee formally refuses the appointment, 
• donee lacks mental capacity.

However, the power conferred by the LPA is not cancelled and remains valid if there is a replacement donee appointed under the LPA or there is one or more surviving donees appointed to act jointly and severally on any matter.

The power conferred by the LPA will be cancelled if the LPA appoints two or more donees to act jointly and the power to one of those donees is cancelled.

Can a donee appointed to make decisions in my personal welfare matters also make decisions in property & affairs matters and vice versa?

If your donee has been appointed only to make decisions about personal welfare, he cannot make decisions about your finances unless he is authorised to make decisions about your property & affairs as well.

If your donee has been appointed only to make decisions about property & affairs, he cannot make decisions about your welfare unless he is authorised to make decisions about your personal welfare as well.

Can someone decline to be my donee?

Yes. A donee must be informed of your intention to appoint him and he must give his consent. A donee can decline the appointment.

If I have more than one donee, how should they decide on matters on my behalf?

If you appoint two or more donees to make decisions about the same matters, you can appoint them to act in any of the following ways:

• Jointly: The donees have to act together and cannot act separately
• Jointly and severally: The donees can take the decisions together or separately. Both types of decisions are valid.

If you appoint more than two donees and do not specify how they are to act, the law assumes they are to act jointly.

When does the donee step in to make decisions on behalf of the donor?

The donee should not step in to make decisions even after the LPA is registered, as long as the donor still possesses mental capacity.

The donee will step in to act and make decisions on behalf of the donor only when the donor loses his mental capacity.

What are the restrictions on the power of the donee?

Your donee may only make decisions on your behalf if you, the donor, lacks capacity, or if your donee reasonably believes that the donor lacks capacity to make those decisions.

You may restrict the scope or exclude the types of decisions that a donee may make; (e.g. the donor appointing a donee for property & affairs matters may state in the LPA that the donee cannot make any decisions on investments).

If you choose not to restrict the decisions your donee may make, a general LPA, whether for personal welfare and/or property & affairs, gives him the authority to make wide-ranging decisions on your behalf.

There is a list of excluded decisions which donees cannot make on your behalf.

Please refer to the Code of Practice for more details.