Lasting Power of Attorney in Singapore: what it covers and why to file early

The LPA is a legal document your parent signs while still of sound mind, naming someone to act for them if they lose mental capacity later. Without it, you'll need a court order to do basic things on their behalf: pay their bills, sell their flat, authorise a surgery, move them into a nursing home.

A court order takes months and tens of thousands of dollars. An LPA takes a few weeks and around $125. The catch: your parent has to sign it while they still have capacity. Once dementia advances or a stroke wipes out comprehension, the LPA window has closed.

What the LPA covers

There are two types of authority you can grant. Most people grant both.

Personal Welfare. Decisions about where your parent lives, what medical care they receive, who they see, what they eat, and their daily care arrangements. The donee can refuse certain treatments on their behalf, but cannot consent to withdrawing life-sustaining treatment unless that authority is specifically granted.

Property & Affairs. Decisions about money and assets: bank accounts, CPF withdrawals (subject to CPF Board rules), property sale, signing tenancy agreements, paying bills, filing tax returns.

You can name more than one donee. Joint donees must agree on every decision. Joint and several donees can each act independently. A mix is also possible: joint for big decisions, several for routine ones.

Name a replacement donee in case the primary donee can't act. If your only donee is your sibling and they predecease your parent, the LPA dies with them unless a replacement is in place.

Who can be a donee

A donee must be:

• 21 or older
• Of sound mind
• Not bankrupt (for Property & Affairs)

Spouses and adult children are the usual picks. A trusted friend or a professional donee (lawyer, accountant) also works. Avoid naming someone with their own money problems for Property & Affairs. A non-resident can technically serve, but the logistics get painful.

How to apply

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), under MSF, runs the LPA system. The process is online via the OPG Online portal, with one in-person step.

1. Your parent logs into OPG Online with Singpass. They fill in Form 1, which covers the standard combination of both authorities. Form 2 is for custom restrictions or gifts; it requires a lawyer to draft and costs more.

2. They name the donees and the replacement donee. Each donee receives a Singpass notification and must accept the appointment.

3. A certificate issuer assesses capacity. This is the in-person step. A doctor (GP, polyclinic doctor on the OPG panel, or specialist), a lawyer, or a psychiatrist meets your parent, confirms they understand the document, and signs the certificate. A GP charges $50 to $100. A lawyer charges $150 to $300. A psychiatrist charges $200 to $500. OPG publishes a list of panel doctors with capped fees.

4. Submit to OPG. Application fee is $75 for Singapore citizens. PRs pay $150. The citizen fee has been waived during various promotional periods; check the OPG site for the current state.

5. Three-week registration period. OPG reviews and registers the LPA. You'll get confirmation. The donee can act once a doctor later certifies your parent lacks capacity.

Total cost: roughly $125 to $400 depending on the certificate issuer. The cheapest route is a panel GP doing the certificate.

Why now and not later

The most common regret in this area: waiting until the dementia diagnosis. By the time a doctor formally diagnoses moderate dementia, your parent often can't pass a capacity assessment. The certificate issuer will refuse to sign. The LPA option is gone.

What's left is deputyship: applying to the Family Justice Courts to be appointed your parent's deputy under the Mental Capacity Act. It involves a doctor's report, a deputy's affidavit, a court hearing, and ongoing reporting to the Public Guardian. Legal fees run $5,000 to $15,000 and the process takes six months or more.

If your parent is over 60 and healthy: do the LPA this year. If they're forgetting names or repeating questions: do it this month. If they've been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment but the doctor still considers them capable: do it this week, with a psychiatrist as the certificate issuer (their assessment carries the most weight if challenged).

After registration

Keep the original document and certified copies. Banks, CPF Board, and hospitals will ask for one when the donee starts acting. Additional certified copies cost a small fee at OPG.

The LPA activates only when a doctor certifies your parent lacks capacity for the specific decision in question. It isn't a blank cheque the moment it's registered. The donee must act in your parent's best interests under the Mental Capacity Act, and OPG can investigate complaints from other family members.

Tell the rest of the family. A sibling who didn't know about the LPA and finds out at the worst moment will fight you on it. The fight is avoidable.