Singapore VCC insights

Lasting Power of Attorney Singapore for Family Office Principals: Boards, VCCs and Trusts

By VCC Editorial Team · Published 17 October 2026

Short answer: A lasting power of attorney under the Mental Capacity Act 2008 lets a principal aged 21 or over choose who manages their personal welfare and property if they lose capacity. It reaches the principal’s own assets and shareholder votes, not their board seats. Directors of Singapore companies and VCCs must have full legal capacity, so board continuity needs separate planning.

This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. For matters needing legal advice, we work with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms.

For a family office principal, the harder planning gap is usually not death, which wills, probate and trusts are built to handle. It is a period of lost capacity, when the principal still owns the shares and still sits on the boards but cannot sign. This guide examines the lasting power of attorney Singapore regime for that situation. It covers what the instrument does under the Mental Capacity Act 2008 (MCA), what the OPG requires, where the law stops a donee, and how to cover the gaps at company, variable capital company (VCC), single family office (SFO) and trust level. Sources were checked on 17 October 2026.

What does a lasting power of attorney in Singapore authorise?

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) lets one or more donees make decisions on the donor’s personal welfare, property and affairs, or both, once the donor no longer has capacity. It operates only on incapacity and only within the limits of the MCA and the instrument.

The donor may grant authority over a whole domain or only over “specified matters” (s 11(1)). The authority is always subject to the principles in s 3 and the best-interests test in s 6 (s 11(4)). Section 6(7) matters for wealth planning. Where a decision disposes of or settles property, the decision-maker must aim, so far as reasonably practicable, to preserve that property for the person’s maintenance during their lifetime. OPG describes the LPA as a deed that also authorises the donee to sign deeds for the donor.

A further point catches families out. Anyone dealing with a donee may ask for a certificate from a registered medical practitioner stating that the donor’s lack of capacity is likely to be permanent. If the donee cannot produce one, that person may refuse to accept the donee’s authority (s 13(10)). Where incapacity may be temporary, banks and custodians can rely on this to refuse instructions.

Who can make an LPA, and can a foreign principal make one?

Any person aged 21 or over with capacity can be a donor, whatever their nationality. The filing route depends on whether the principal can use Singpass.

Since 14 November 2022, applications to register an LPA have had to be made through the Public Guardian’s electronic transaction system (s 10C(1)(a)). In practice that is OPG Online (OPGO), accessed with Singpass. Section 11(2A) allows a non-electronic instrument in limited cases, and OPG’s guidance for donors includes cases where the donor, a donee or a replacement donee is not eligible for Singpass. MSF also states that foreign donors who do not hold a Foreign Identification Number (FIN) may continue to use the hardcopy form, subject to the Public Guardian’s approval.

Singapore Citizens filing Form 1 have paid no application fee since 1 April 2026, and OPG has applied reduced fees to all other applications since 1 May 2026. Permanent residents and foreigners should check the fees table linked from OPG’s LPA page. OPG gives no refund once an application is submitted.

The Certificate Issuer must be a medical practitioner accredited by the Public Guardian, a practising Singapore lawyer or a registered psychiatrist. OPG disqualifies, among others, the donor’s family members, any donee or replacement donee, a business partner or employee of the donor, and a director or employee of a corporate donee. That rules out a family office employee.

Form 1 or Form 2: which suits a family office principal?

Form 1 grants general powers with standard restrictions. Form 2 allows customised clauses drafted by a Singapore solicitor, and is usually the better fit where there are substantial assets, several holding entities or a corporate donee.

Feature	LPA Form 1	LPA Form 2
Powers	General powers with basic restrictions	Customised powers
Drafting	Donor, on OPGO	Singapore solicitor practising in a Singapore law firm
Licensed trust company as donee	Not in the Form 1 flow (OPG guide)	Property and affairs only (OPG guide; MCA s 12(1)(a)(iii))
OPG application fee	Nil for Singapore Citizens from 1 April 2026; reduced for others from 1 May 2026	Reduced from 1 May 2026
Uptake and fit	Used by 98% of Singapore Citizens who made an LPA (OPG)	Gift limits, investment instructions, conditions on specific assets

The donee rules in s 12 apply to both forms. A personal welfare donee must be an individual. An undischarged bankrupt cannot be a property and affairs donee (s 12(2)). Where an instrument names several donees without saying how they act, they act jointly (s 12(5)). If one joint donee fails the eligibility rules, no LPA is created (s 12(6)). A donee cannot appoint a successor, but the instrument may name replacement donees (s 12(8) and (9)). For children in different time zones, joint and several appointment is often the practical choice.

How is an LPA made and registered?

1. The donor drafts Form 1 on OPGO, or a Singapore solicitor drafts Form 2 for the donor to accept online.
2. Each donee and replacement donee accepts, confirming they understand the duties in s 3 and s 6 (First Schedule, para 2(1)(c)).
3. The donor executes before a Certificate Issuer, who certifies understanding and the absence of fraud or undue pressure (para 2(1)(e)).
4. The donor applies for registration within 6 months and pays any fee (para 4(1) and (3)).
5. The Public Guardian notifies the donees (para 5) and registers at the end of the prescribed period, absent objections (para 4(5)).

What can a donee not do under a lasting power of attorney in Singapore?

A donee cannot make a will, change insurance or CPF nominations, make gifts without express authority, or take decisions the MCA excludes. These limits apply whatever the instrument says.

Section 13(9) bars a property and affairs donee from making or revoking nominations under s 132(2) or s 133(2) of the Insurance Act 1966 and from executing a will. Section 13(9A) applies a similar bar to Central Provident Fund nominations and memoranda. Gifts are permitted only with express authorisation (s 14(2)). If no value is set, gifts must not be unreasonable having regard to the size of the estate (s 14(3)). Larger gifts need the court (s 18(4)). If family distributions or philanthropic pledges should continue, a Form 2 instrument should say so.

A personal welfare donee cannot decide on life-sustaining treatment (s 13(8)). Section 26 lists decisions nobody may make on another’s behalf, such as consenting to marriage or making an advance medical directive. Section 28 excludes voting at public elections and national referendums. Shareholder votes fall under company law instead.

Can a donee act as a company or VCC director in the principal’s place?

No. A directorship is a personal office, and the statutes require directors to have full legal capacity. The donee can usually exercise the principal’s rights as a shareholder instead.

Section 145(2) of the Companies Act 1967 allows only a natural person aged 18 or over “who is otherwise of full legal capacity” to be a director, and s 48(2) of the Variable Capital Companies Act 2018 says the same of VCC directors. Under the model constitution for private companies, a director’s office becomes vacant if the director “becomes mentally disordered and incapable of managing” their affairs, or becomes subject to the law on mental capacity (Companies (Model Constitutions) Regulations 2015, First Schedule, reg 76(f)).

Residency rules make this urgent. A company needs at least one director ordinarily resident in Singapore (s 145(1)). A VCC needs a resident director and a director who is a director or qualified representative of its manager (VCC Act, s 48(1)). A director cannot resign or vacate office if no qualifying director would remain (s 145(5); VCC Act, s 48(5)), and the listed exceptions do not expressly cover incapacity. Where the principal is the only resident director, appoint a second qualifying director in advance. Our note on filling a VCC director vacancy without control gaps covers the board mechanics.

Shareholder rights are different. The model constitution allows voting by proxy or attorney (reg 58). It also lets a member who is subject to the law on mental capacity vote “by a person who properly has the management of the estate of the member” (reg 60). A registered property and affairs donee or a deputy will normally fit that description, but check each entity’s constitution. The family can then still appoint directors and pass members’ resolutions. None of these provisions is among the changes ACRA lists for the phase of the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 that commences on 20 October 2026.

How should SFO governance and family trusts be set up for incapacity?

An LPA covers the principal’s personal holdings. It does not run the entities. Each SFO, holding company, VCC and trust needs its own way of carrying on if the principal is incapacitated.

For an SFO, that means board depth, investment committee terms that do not need the principal’s personal sign-off for routine decisions, and bank and custody mandates that already name alternative signatories. SFOs restructuring for the revised framework can build this in now; see our note on the single family office transition to 15 June 2027. Shares the principal holds personally in a family VCC should be reviewed against both the LPA and the VCC’s constitution. On death, see VCC share transfers after investor death.

Trusts need their own analysis. A trustee may delegate by power of attorney under the Trustees Act 1967, but each delegation lasts at most 18 months (s 27(2)(b)), and the trustee remains liable for the attorney (s 27(6)). A trustee who “is incapable of acting” may be replaced by the person holding the power of appointment or by the continuing trustees (s 37(1)(e)). The MCA expressly lets the court exercise a person’s powers as trustee (s 23(1)(o)), but Part 4 contains no matching express power for LPA donees. The more robust design keeps trustee, protector and reserved powers in trust instruments that name successors, or in a private trust company with its own board succession. See also living trusts compared with wills.

What happens if a principal loses capacity without an LPA?

The family must apply to the court for a deputy under s 20 of the MCA. Deputyship is slower than a registered LPA and comes with tighter limits.

The court must prefer making a decision itself to appointing a deputy, and must keep a deputy’s powers as limited in scope and duration as reasonably practicable (s 20(4)). A deputy cannot be given power to make gifts, change insurance or CPF nominations, or execute a will (s 25(3)). The Family Justice Courts’ standard process uses an Originating Application in Form 59 (filing fee S$60), the applicant’s affidavit and a doctor’s affidavit. The medical report must be less than 6 months old, and the doctor must have seen the person within 12 months before writing it. The courts say most standard applications conclude within 3 to 4 months. The simplified process requires every relevant person to consent, and money from bank withdrawals, insurance claims and share sales is capped at S$80,000.

A registered LPA prevails: a deputy cannot be given power to make a decision inconsistent with a donee’s decision within the donee’s authority (s 25(4)).

Will a foreign power of attorney work in Singapore?

An ordinary or foreign power of attorney can be used while the principal has capacity, but it is not built for incapacity, and Singapore counterparties may refuse it once capacity is doubted.

An ordinary power may be deposited in the Registry of the Supreme Court, with a certified translation if it is in a foreign language (Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1886, s 48). That Act treats the donor’s mental disorder alongside death and revocation, protecting only good-faith payments made without knowledge of it (s 46). If a person has been appointed abroad to manage the principal’s property because of incapacity, the Singapore court may direct that Singapore property, including shares and dividends, be transferred or dealt with as that person requires (MCA, Second Schedule, para 7). A principal resident in Singapore, or with substantial assets here, should hold a Singapore LPA alongside any home-country instrument. For the position on death, see resealing a grant of probate in Singapore.

Frequently asked questions

Does an LPA end when the donor dies?

Yes. OPG states that the LPA is cancelled on the donor’s death, and the Public Guardian must cancel the registration (First Schedule, para 12(1)(b)(ii)).

Can a donor change a registered LPA?

A donor with capacity may revoke it at any time and must notify the Public Guardian and every donee (s 15(2) and (9)). OPG has accepted notices of revocation through OPGO since 3 August 2026.

Does bankruptcy affect an LPA?

The donor’s bankruptcy revokes the property and affairs powers (s 15(3)). A donee’s bankruptcy ends that donee’s property and affairs authority but not their personal welfare authority (s 15(5)(b) and (7)).

Who supervises a donee?

The Public Guardian maintains the LPA register, handles complaints and can investigate (s 31). The court can revoke an LPA for fraud, undue pressure or conduct not in the donor’s best interests (s 17(3) and (4)), and can suspend a donee’s powers where property is at risk of dissipation (s 36A).

Sources

• Mental Capacity Act 2008, Singapore Statutes Online
• Office of the Public Guardian: Lasting Power of Attorney
• Office of the Public Guardian: Where to find a Certificate Issuer
• Family Justice Courts: deputyship application (standard process)
• Variable Capital Companies Act 2018, Singapore Statutes Online

Raffles Corporate Services helps family offices and fund managers with VCC incorporation, family office set-up and ongoing compliance, including resident director cover and board continuity planning for the day a principal cannot act. Company secretarial support is available through Singapore Secretary Services. Email hello@rafflescorporateservices.com or Call/SMS/WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or visit Raffles Corporate Services.

Last reviewed: 17 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Variable Capital Companies Act.