Can Automation Cure the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?
It is both right and proper that the Power of Attorney process is handled rigorously and with the utmost scrutiny – that can’t be contested. But ironically, it seems that many individuals going through the process of getting authorised to act on the behalf of others are actually being failed by the authorisation process itself!
A recent sampling exercise by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) revealed the surprising statistic that 60% of the LPAs submitted to them last year were erroneous and required further correspondence with the sender before they could be approved. Furthermore, half of these flawed documents required re-submission and hence payment of a new fee, an entirely unnecessary waste of the firm’s time and finances.
Creating an LPA for a client involves a 52-page application form, ascertaining which sections are relevant to the case in particular. Completing this form in accordance with the guideline can take, on average, 3-4 hours, at which point the completed document is sent to the OPG – but in 6 out of 10 cases, it’s later returned with errors, (some of which can terminate the process entirely). More time is then spent correcting or resubmitting the document at additional cost before it can be accepted and is of any use to the client.
This is grossly inefficient, and a classic example of how Epoq’s automated legal document services can improve productivity – members of the MyLawyer network will be able to offer LPA services to their clients while minimising these kind of inefficiencies. A MyLawyer firm will be able to create the document automatically as they are guided intelligently through the ‘interview’ process, selectively obtaining the necessary information. The process will take a fraction of the time taken by a conventional construction, and by cutting out human error will significantly reduce the chance of a costly, time-wasting rejection from the OPG. Better still, the firm can instruct their client to ‘interview’ themselves online, meaning that the only legwork will be checking the draft automated by the client themselves.
The MyLawyer firm is able to cut out wasted time and expensive errors and increase their potential margins as a result of a smoother service-delivery. The client saves time, money and effort. A classic example of the merits of automation…
Tags: automation technology, legal