MSF unaware of any harm suffered from legal lapse involving electronic LPAs: Eric Chua
A Bill was passed in parliament to retroactively validate electronic Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) forms after a legal lapse was found last year.
An LPA allows a donee, or an appointed person, to make medical and financial decisions on behalf of a donor, should they lose mental capacity. (Photo: iStock/DragonImages)
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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) is unaware of any harm arising as a result of a legal lapse involving electronic Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) forms, which went undetected for nearly a year.
The lapse occurred even though the form was approved for deployment by MSF through an “internal proofreading and vetting process”, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development Eric Chua said in parliament on Tuesday (Apr 2).
A Bill was passed in parliament on Tuesday to retroactively validate these LPAs and remove any uncertainty about their validity.
About 87,000 electronic LPA documents were found to be lacking a required statement that could leave them open to a potential legal challenge, MSF announced last month.
The affected donors do not need to remake their LPAs, and no action is required by members of public, the ministry said at the time. LPA documents made through the hardcopy process are not affected.
An LPA allows an appointed person, or donees, to make medical and financial decisions on behalf of another individual should they lose mental capacity.
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Mr Chua said MSF is "not aware of any actual harm suffered by donees or donors".
Many of those who made LPAs continue to have mental capacity, so their donees do not need to act on their behalf yet, he added.
“It is possible that some donees have begun to exercise the powers in some of the affected electronic LPAs, but we are not aware of any challenge to the exercise of those powers by third parties,” he said.
The electronic LPA forms were prepared by the staff of the Office of the Public Guardian, which is an agency under MSF that is responsible for safeguarding the interests of individuals who lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves.
The forms were then vetted by the Public Guardian, as well as by a separate legal unit.
“Unfortunately, no system of process checks can be 100 per cent accurate, as this case shows,” said Mr Chua.
He added that the electronic LPA forms go through various parties, including certificate issuers who are familiar with the hardcopy forms, such as lawyers or doctors.
“Despite this, it took nearly a year before a member of the public noticed the difference and wrote in to enquire.”
The Mental Capacity Act lays out that an electronic LPA must clearly state that it is intended to be a deed by the donor.
Even though the significance and effect of an LPA are clearly explained in the electronic document, the affected electronic LPA documents – certified from Nov 14, 2022 to Jan 4, 2024 – did not expressly state that it is a deed, said MSF in March.
On Tuesday, Mr Chua apologised again for the omission and for any inconvenience caused, noting that the electronic LPAs were revised to include this statement from Jan 5.
During the debate on the bill, Members of Parliament (MPs) Don Wee (PAP-Chua Chu Kang) and Yip Hon Weng (PAP-Yio Chu Kang) asked if affected donors would be informed that their LPAs are valid.
Since no action is required by the donors with the passing of the Bill, MSF will not be sending individual notices, said Mr Chua in his response.
Instead, a note will be affixed to the registration page of affected electronic LPAs to point to the retroactive validating provision when the Bill comes into effect, he said.
Mr Wee also asked for an update on the overall LPA take-up rates. Mr Chua said that close to 210,000 Singaporeans aged 50 and above have made an LPA.
In Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 2), a Bill was moved to provide for retroactive validation of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) which were affected by a missing statement. The electronic LPA form, unlike the hardcopy form, did not contain the required statement “signed (or marked) and delivered as a deed by Donor”. For approximately 87,000 electronic LPAs made between 14 November 2022 and 4 January 2024, this raised uncertainty as to whether they were validly made. The Bill assures affected donors that they will not have to remake their LPAs and removes any future potential complications. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development Eric Chua told the House that to date, his ministry was not aware of any actual harm suffered by donees or donors. Since 5 January 2024, the electronic LPA had been revised to include the necessary statement. Mr Chua also spoke about the process by which the electronic LPA form had been approved. He said the Ministry of Social and Family Development had an internal proofreading and vetting process. The form was prepared by staff of the Office of the Public Guardian and vetted by the Public Guardian as well as a separate Legal Unit. Apologising for the omission, he said that “unfortunately, no system of process checks can be 100 per cent accurate," as this case shows.
