Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
A legal document that lets you appoint someone you trust to make decisions for you if you lose the ability to make them yourself. There are two types: health and welfare, and property and financial affairs.
Key Facts
- Two types: Property & Financial Affairs, and Health & Welfare
- Must be set up while you still have mental capacity
- Registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)
- Registration fee: £82 per LPA (reduced or waived if on low income)
- Health & Welfare LPA can only be used if you lack capacity
- Property & Financial LPA can be used with your permission while you still have capacity
Why Is an LPA So Important?
Without an LPA, if you lose the ability to make decisions — through dementia, stroke, accident or illness — no one has automatic legal authority to manage your affairs or make decisions about your care, even a spouse. Banks will freeze accounts. Medical teams will make decisions without input from those who know you best.
Setting up an LPA while you have capacity is one of the most important steps anyone can take — not just for older people, but for anyone over 18.
Property & Financial Affairs LPA
This allows your attorney to manage your bank accounts, pay bills, collect your pension and benefits, buy or sell property, and manage investments. Unlike the health LPA, this can be used while you still have capacity — for example, if you want help managing your finances due to illness or difficulty getting to the bank.
Health & Welfare LPA
This allows your attorney to make decisions about your medical treatment, where you live, your daily routine and care, and — if you choose to include it — whether to refuse life-sustaining treatment. This LPA can only be used if you no longer have mental capacity to make the decision yourself at that time.
How to Create an LPA
You complete the LPA forms (available on the GOV.UK website or from the OPG), have them signed by a certificate provider (a professional or someone who has known you well for at least 2 years, not your attorney), and have your attorney sign. You then register the LPA with the OPG — which currently takes around 20 weeks.
You can use a solicitor, which costs around £150–£300 per LPA but provides expert guidance, or do it yourself online at the GOV.UK website. The OPG also runs a free helpline.