Lasting powers of attorney, explained

Who can act for you if you can’t — and why a will is not enough

A will deals with what happens when you die. A lasting power of attorney (LPA) deals with what happens if you are alive but unable to make decisions for yourself. This note explains the two kinds of LPA, the people involved, and how one is brought into effect. It is general information, not advice on your own circumstances.

Thinking about LPAs? Read this first

Most people who come for LPAs are better served by the Family Estate Plan — where both of you get all four LPAs, mirror wills, a property trust and letters of wishes prepared together in one engagement, and the documents are included rather than billed one by one. See how the plans work →

What an LPA is, and who is who

An LPA is a legal document by which you (the donor) appoint one or more people you trust (your attorneys) to make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make them yourself. A third person, the certificate provider, confirms that you understand the document and are not being pressured into it. You make an LPA while you have capacity; you cannot make one once you have lost it.

The two kinds — and the difference that matters

Property & financial affairs

Covers money, bank accounts, paying bills, dealing with property and investments.

Can be used as soon as it is registered — with your permission — even while you still have capacity, which is useful if illness or travel makes day-to-day matters hard.

Health & welfare

Covers medical care, where you live, and day-to-day welfare, including (if you choose) life-sustaining treatment.

Can only be used once you have lost capacity to make the decision in question.

Most people who plan ahead make both. They are separate documents, registered separately.

Choosing attorneys, and how they decide

—Choose people who are trustworthy, good with the kind of decisions involved, and likely to outlive you. You can appoint more than one, and name replacements.
—Decide whether they must act jointly (all together, on everything), or jointly and severally (together or independently). Jointly is more of a safeguard but less practical; jointly and severally is usually more workable.
—Attorneys must act in your best interests, follow any instructions and preferences you record, keep your money separate from theirs, and keep records. They are accountable to the Office of the Public Guardian.

Registration — an LPA is not usable until it is registered

An LPA has no legal effect until it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). Registration currently takes several weeks, so it is done at the outset, not left until it is needed. Once registered, the original (or a certified copy) is what banks and others will ask to see.

The trap to avoid: leaving the LPA until capacity is already failing. If you wait too long you may no longer be able to make one, and your family would then face a slow, costly application to the Court of Protection for a deputyship instead. Making the LPA in good health is far cheaper and entirely in your control.

If there is no LPA: deputyship

If someone loses capacity without an LPA in place, no one — not even a spouse — automatically has the right to manage their finances. A family member must apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed a deputy. That process takes months, costs more, and brings ongoing supervision and an annual report. An LPA made in advance avoids all of it.

In short

An LPA lets people you trust act for you if you cannot — the gap a will does not cover.
There are two: property & financial affairs, and health & welfare. Most people make both.
It must be registered with the OPG before it can be used, so do it in good health.
Without one, your family faces a slow, costly Court of Protection deputyship.

This note is general information and does not constitute advice on your own circumstances. We will advise you on the right form of LPA for you in writing.

Barraj Legal — a trading style of Rhys Johns, a barrister authorised & regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Sophia House, 28 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11 9LJ