If you are reading this, there is a good chance you already know what an LPA is.
You have probably Googled it before. Maybe you brought it up at a family dinner once and someone changed the subject. Maybe you have a WhatsApp message half-drafted to your siblings that you never quite sent. Maybe it is sitting quietly in the back of your mind — right next to “call the dentist” and “actually use that gym membership” — as one of those things you fully intend to do, just not quite yet.
We are not here to make you feel bad about that. Honestly, we get it.
These conversations are tender. They touch on things we love most — our parents, our grandparents, the people who built our families — and asking “what happens if you can’t make decisions for yourself one day?” is not exactly easy dinner table conversation, even when it comes from a place of pure love.
But here is what we want to tell you today, warmly and honestly:
Getting your family’s LPA sorted is so much simpler — and so much warmer — than most Singapore families expect. And there has never been an easier time to do it.
So let us have this conversation. Properly.
First Things First — What Is an LPA, Really?
Let us skip the legal language for a moment and just talk about what an LPA actually means for your family.
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a document that lets your loved one — while they are completely well and clear-headed — choose who they trust to help make decisions for them if they ever reach a point where they cannot make those decisions themselves.
That is it. At its heart, it is a trust document. It is your mum saying, “If something ever happens to me, I want you to be the one who speaks for me.” It is your dad saying, “I trust you with everything — and now it is official.”
The decisions covered fall into two areas. The first is personal welfare — things like healthcare preferences and daily living decisions. The second is property and financial affairs — managing bank accounts, paying bills, handling assets. Your loved one can choose to cover one or both areas, and can appoint one person or several people they trust as their donees.
The person making the LPA is called the donor. The person they appoint is called the donee. And the whole thing only works — and this is the part worth paying attention to — while the donor still has full mental capacity to make their own choices freely.
Which brings us to the most important thing in this entire article.
The Part That Catches Most Families Off Guard
Here is something that surprises almost every Singapore family the first time they hear it.
An LPA can only be set up while your loved one is mentally well.
Not after a stroke. Not after a dementia diagnosis. Not after a fall that changes everything. Only before — when they are healthy, clear-headed, and able to make the decision freely for themselves.
Once mental capacity is lost, the window to set up an LPA closes completely. At that point, families who do not have one in place face a much longer, much more complicated process through the courts — all while already dealing with a health crisis. It is a situation no family should have to navigate unnecessarily, especially when the alternative is so simple.
We share this not to frighten you. We share it because knowing this is what turns “we’ll do it next month” into “actually, let’s do it this month.”
The best time to set up an LPA is on a completely ordinary Tuesday. When everyone is well. When there is no rush. When your loved one can sit down calmly and choose, freely and happily, who they want in their corner.
That Tuesday can be this one.
“But Won’t My Family Automatically Be Able to Help?”
This is the question we hear most often from Singapore families — and it is such an understandable one.
Of course your family will help. They already do. You are already the one managing the appointments, the medications, the everything. You are already their person.
But here is the gentle truth: without an LPA in place, even the closest, most devoted family member has no legal authority to make formal decisions on behalf of their loved one. Not a spouse. Not an adult child. Not anyone — no matter how close the relationship, no matter how obvious it seems that you are the right person.
Without an LPA, if your loved one loses mental capacity and important decisions need to be made — medical choices, financial matters, care arrangements — the family may need to apply to the courts for a Deputyship Order before they can act officially. This process takes time, costs more, and happens at exactly the moment when your family has the least bandwidth to deal with it.
An LPA simply makes official what your family already knows in its heart. That you trust each other. That you have always had each other’s backs. That you always will.
Who Should Get an LPA in Singapore?
Short answer: anyone aged 21 and above who wants to make sure the people they love are always set up to look after them properly.
We know LPA is often associated with the elderly or the unwell — but that is actually a misconception worth clearing up. Unexpected things happen to people of all ages. An accident. A sudden illness. A medical event nobody saw coming. An LPA is not an age thing. It is a love thing.
That said, if your parents or grandparents are getting older and this has not been sorted yet — this is your nudge. Not a scary one.
Here Is the Part That Changes Everything
Now for the news that surprises most Singapore families — in the very best way.
You do not have to bring your elderly parent to a clinic to get this done.
For a long time, LPA certification required visiting a clinic or legal office — which, for families with elderly parents who have limited mobility, health conditions, or simply find clinical environments stressful, was a real barrier. A logistical headache layered on top of an already emotionally tender conversation.
Doctor Anywhere changed that.
Through the Doctor House Call service, a certified, MOH-accredited Doctor Anywhere physician comes directly to your home to certify your family’s LPA. Your loved one stays in their favourite chair. You stay together as a family. The doctor comes to you.
No clinic. No queue. No taxi ride with a nervous parent. Just a warm, professional conversation in the space where your family actually lives — and about 30-45 minutes later, one of the most important things on your family’s to-do list is done.
What the Appointment Actually Looks Like
Let us walk you through it — not the legal process, but the human experience of it.
Before the visit
The LPA form itself is completed online, at your own pace, before the doctor arrives. You fill in LPA Form 1 through the Office of the Public Guardian’s portal at go.gov.sg/opg. This is the standard form that most families use — it gives your appointed donee general powers to make decisions on the donor’s behalf, with some standard safeguards built in.
Your donee will also need to accept their nomination online. They do not need to be physically present at the certification appointment, though they are of course welcome to be there.
The doctor arrives
At your chosen time, a friendly Doctor Anywhere physician arrives at your home. Think of it less like a medical appointment and more like a knowledgeable friend coming over to help your family with something important.
The doctor’s role during the certification is warm but clear: they are there to make sure the donor — your loved one — understands what they are signing, is doing so freely and willingly, and has the mental capacity to make this decision for themselves. It is a conversation, not an examination. It is gentle, not clinical.
The whole appointment takes about 25 to 30 minutes. Families often tell us it felt much shorter than that.
After the visit
Once the LPA is certified by the doctor, you submit it online to the Office of the Public Guardian for official registration. This is straightforward and done entirely online. You will receive an SMS or email notification when your LPA is officially registered and active.
And that is it. Your family’s LPA is done.
A Friendly Word About the Cost
We know cost is one of the things families wonder about — so let us be completely transparent.
There are two things to be aware of when it comes to the cost of an LPA in Singapore.
The first is the LPA form application fee. The Singapore government has been actively encouraging more Singaporeans to put their LPAs in place, and as part of that effort, form application fees have been waived. This waiver was in place until March 2026 — if you are reading this around or after that date, we recommend checking the current position directly on the MSF website at msf.gov.sg, as the fee structure may have been updated.
The second is the certification fee. This covers the doctor’s time in visiting your home and certifying your LPA — and it costs $150 excluding GST. That is the total certification cost. One payment. One visit. Done.
When you think about what that $100 does for your family — the decisions it protects, the peace of mind it creates, the court applications it prevents — it is genuinely one of the most valuable appointments you will ever book.
For more information on current LPA fees and the registration process, you can always visit the official MSF website at msf.gov.sg.
Ready When You Are
There is no perfect moment to do this. There is no magic day when it will suddenly feel easy and obvious and long overdue.
There is just today — ordinary, unhurried, and still well within the window.
A Doctor Anywhere doctor will come to your home at a time that suits your family. Your loved one stays comfortable. The appointment takes about half an hour. And when it is done, you will all breathe a little easier.
That is it. That is what caring ahead looks like.
We are here when you are ready.
Book a Doctor House Call for LPA Certification
A warm, certified Doctor Anywhere physician comes to your home. Done together, as a family.
👉 Book Your Home Visit → https://doctoranywhere.com/doctor-house-call/
This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For specific legal queries about your LPA, please consult a qualified legal professional or visit the Office of the Public Guardian at msf.gov.sg.
