In our weekly legal column, the Leader, with the expert advice of the team at GHP Legal, sets out to answer some of your problems. Today's question is answered by senior solicitor Ulia Choudhry...

How long does it take to process a Power of Attorney?

Q: My husband and I are thinking of preparing lasting powers of attorney to appoint our sons as our property and finances attorneys. We have been putting it off for the best part of a year now, but someone told us it takes ages to get powers of attorney registered and you never really know what's around the corner, do you? Can you tell me how long the process can take?

A: As you say, nothing is certain, including the length of time it takes to register a power of attorney these days, as things are changing all the time. When you first instruct solicitors to prepare your lasting powers of attorney, they will be able to give you an indication as to how long it will take them to prepare the necessary forms for you.

It will help if you attend your initial appointment with the full details of your attorneys to hand so that you can provide these to your solicitor. The lasting power of attorney once drafted and approved will need to signed by three different parties, to include you the donor, your certificate provider and your attorneys.

One the lasting power of attorney is signed by all parties it will need to be sent to the office of the public guardian if you wish it to be registered.

Typically, the office of the public guardian used to take around 12-16 weeks to turn around the paperwork and produce registered lasting powers of attorney, however, as it stands currently, the office of the public guardian has advised that they are taking around 20 weeks to complete the registration process. Therefore, if you wish to make a lasting power of attorney, it may be better to start the process sooner rather than later.

• This question has been answered by Ulia Choudhry, a solicitor with GHP Legal. If you would like to speak to someone about this or any other legal matter it is still possible, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that we continue to offer our high levels of service to our clients. Where possible, we ask that you communicate with us by phone or email. If you have a new enquiry or for an appointment visit www.ghplegal.com or contact one of our offices: Wrexham 01978 291456, Llangollen 01978 860313, Oswestry 01691 659194.