Lasting Power of Attorney — UK complete guide 2026/27

What an LPA actually is

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that lets a person (the donor) appoint one or more people (their attorneys) to make decisions on the donor's behalf if the donor loses mental capacity to make those decisions themselves.

Two completely separate types exist:

• Property & Financial Affairs LPA — covers paying bills, managing bank accounts, claiming benefits, selling property, dealing with pensions. Can be used while the donor still has capacity (with their consent) and continues after they lose capacity.
• Health & Welfare LPA — covers medical treatment decisions, care home choices, life-sustaining treatment. Can ONLY be used after the donor has lost mental capacity to make the decision themselves.

Most UK adults need both. They are separate documents with separate registration fees (£82 each in 2026/27, paid to the Office of the Public Guardian).

Why this matters — what happens without an LPA

If you lose mental capacity (stroke, dementia, severe head injury, prolonged illness) and you don't have a registered LPA, your family cannot just step in and manage your affairs. There's no automatic "next of kin" authority for financial or medical decisions.

The alternative is for someone to apply to the Court of Protection to become your deputy. This process:

• Takes 6-12 months on average. Sometimes longer in complex cases.
• Costs £365-£500+ in court fees just to apply (Court of Protection application fee + appointment fee). Plus typically £1,000-£3,000 in solicitor costs for a straightforward application; £5,000-£10,000 for complex situations.
• Ongoing annual costs: deputies pay a £320 annual supervision fee to the OPG, plus need to file annual accounts. Many deputies retain solicitors for ongoing advice (~£500-£2,000 per year).
• Restricted scope: a deputyship for financial affairs typically doesn't cover health decisions; a separate application is needed (and rarely granted) for personal welfare deputyship.
• Bank accounts frozen: between losing capacity and the deputyship being granted, banks typically freeze accounts. Your spouse, even on a joint account, may struggle to access funds.

The economic case is stark: £164 of LPA fees today vs £5,000+ of court costs and 6 months of paralysed finances later. The non-economic case is bigger: families avoid bitter arguments about who should make decisions; medical professionals know who to talk to; bills get paid on time.

Who needs one?

Honestly: every UK adult over 18. The risk of losing mental capacity isn't just an "old age" issue:

• Strokes can happen at any age — ~10% of UK strokes occur under 50
• Road traffic accidents — severe head injuries causing temporary or permanent capacity loss
• Dementia — though more common over 65, can affect people in 40s and 50s (early-onset)
• Mental illness — severe psychosis or other conditions can temporarily remove capacity
• Coma / unconsciousness from any medical cause

Particularly high-priority groups:

• Anyone over 60
• Anyone with a family history of dementia or stroke
• Self-employed people whose business needs continuous decisions
• Sole owners of property or businesses
• People with complex finances (multiple pensions, properties, investments)
• People in unmarried partnerships — common-law partners have NO automatic next-of-kin status in the UK

Choosing your attorneys

You can appoint 1 to 4+ attorneys (no legal upper limit). The standard pattern: 2-3 attorneys, usually family members or close friends. Things to consider:

Who to choose

• Spouse / civil partner: the obvious primary choice for most. But consider their age and likely health.
• Adult children: typically next. Choose responsibly-minded children with relevant skills (financially literate for the property LPA; sensible about medical decisions for health LPA).
• Siblings: alternative if no spouse / children
• Close friends: occasionally appropriate for childless or single donors
• Solicitor as professional attorney: rare for retail; charges hourly (£200-£500/hr). Sometimes used as a tiebreaker or for complex estates.

The attorney must be 18+ and have mental capacity themselves. They don't need to be UK-resident (though it makes practical decisions easier).

Who NOT to choose

• Anyone bankrupt cannot be a property & financial attorney (but can be a health & welfare one)
• Anyone with poor financial judgement — gambling problem, prior debt issues
• People you don't trust completely — attorneys have significant power and limited ongoing supervision
• Someone likely to die before or with you (joint accident risk) — appoint a replacement attorney

Joint vs joint-and-several vs replacement attorneys

If you appoint multiple attorneys, the LPA can specify:

• Jointly: all attorneys must agree on every decision. Safest but slowest; one disagreement halts everything.
• Jointly and severally: any attorney can act independently. Most practical for day-to-day; relies on attorneys trusting each other.
• Jointly for some decisions, jointly and severally for others: e.g. jointly for selling property; severally for paying bills. Allowed but requires drafting care.
• Replacement attorneys: take over if a primary attorney can no longer act. Strongly recommended.

Standard recommendation: jointly and severally, with at least one replacement attorney named. Avoids deadlocks while preserving accountability.

Property & Financial vs Health & Welfare — the detail

Property & Financial LPA

What attorneys can do:

• Pay bills, manage bank accounts, claim benefits
• Buy or sell property (within reason; selling the donor's main home requires Court approval in some cases)
• Manage investments and pensions
• Run businesses owned by the donor
• Make gifts on the donor's behalf — but ONLY of "reasonable" amounts on customary occasions (birthdays, weddings, Christmas) UNLESS specific authority is given in the LPA
• Negotiate with HMRC, deal with tax returns, claim refunds

Crucial gift restriction: the LPA's default position is that attorneys can only make small gifts on customary occasions (e.g. £100 birthday gift). Anything larger requires Court of Protection approval unless the LPA specifically authorises bigger gifts (e.g. "for IHT planning purposes").

This catches many families out — the attorney can't just transfer £20k to a child to help with a house deposit, even if that's what the donor would have wanted, without specific LPA wording or Court approval.

Health & Welfare LPA

What attorneys can do:

• Choose where the donor lives (own home with care vs care home; which care home)
• Day-to-day care decisions (food, clothing, daily routine)
• Medical treatment decisions (consent to surgery, refuse non-life-saving treatment)
• Life-sustaining treatment decisions — ONLY if the LPA specifically gives this power. There's a tick-box on the form.

The life-sustaining treatment question is the most important on the health LPA. You can either:

• Give your attorneys the power to consent to or refuse life-sustaining treatment on your behalf, OR
• Reserve that power to medical professionals (who would consult the attorneys but make the final decision)

The default if you don't tick the box: medical professionals decide. Most donors want their attorneys to have this power; the tick-box should be deliberate.

How to actually set up an LPA

Three main routes:

1. DIY online (cheapest)

Use the government's online LPA service at gov.uk/power-of-attorney. The portal walks you through the form, prints the completed document, and you post it in with the fee.

• Cost: £82 per LPA registration fee × 2 LPAs = £164 total
• Fee reductions: half (£41 per LPA) if you're on means-tested benefits or low income. Free if you're on certain benefits + low income.
• Time: 1-2 hours to complete the forms; OPG registration takes 8-10 weeks (sometimes longer)
• What you need: full name, date of birth, address for donor and each attorney. Witnesses for signatures.

This is the right route for most people with straightforward situations.

2. Will-writing service / online LPA service

Companies like Farewill, Trust Inheritance, Co-op Legal Services, Beyond etc. charge £100-£500 to prepare LPAs:

• Cost: provider fee £100-£500 plus £82-£164 OPG fees
• What you get: someone double-checks the form, often combined with will-writing service
• Best for: people who want LPAs alongside a will, with modest hand-holding

3. Solicitor

A solicitor will draft custom LPAs, advise on complex situations (e.g. business interests, separated couples, blended families):

• Cost: typically £500-£1,500 for two LPAs plus £164 OPG fees
• Best for: complex estates, family disputes likely, business owners, blended families, anyone where the DIY form's standard options don't fit
• STEP-qualified solicitors (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) specialise in this area

The certificate provider — a crucial step

An LPA requires a "certificate provider" — someone who certifies that you (the donor) understand what you're signing and aren't being pressured. The certificate provider can be:

• Someone who has known you personally for at least 2 years (not family)
• A professional with relevant skills (GP, solicitor, social worker, etc.)

The certificate provider signs a specific page of the LPA stating they've discussed it with you and believe you have capacity. They can't be a family member or an attorney.

For DIY LPAs, asking your GP can cost £30-£100 (GPs charge for non-NHS work). A long-term friend signs for free.

The OPG registration process

1. Complete the LPA form (online or paper). Both LPAs require donor signature, attorney signatures, certificate provider signature, and signatures from people you've notified (if you chose to notify anyone).
2. Submit to the Office of the Public Guardian with the £82 fee per LPA. Online submission via the gov.uk portal is fastest.
3. 4-week waiting period: OPG sends notification to any "people to be told" you listed. They have 3 weeks to object (objections are rare and require formal grounds).
4. OPG registration: typically 8-10 weeks after submission. You'll receive a registered LPA document with an OPG stamp.
5. Activate when needed: the registered LPA can be used immediately (for property & financial, with donor consent if they still have capacity) or kept on file until needed.

The registered LPA needs to be shown to banks, doctors, care homes etc. when an attorney needs to act. Many institutions now have online LPA verification systems via the OPG.

Common mistakes

1. Only doing one LPA, not both. The property LPA helps no one if you're hospitalised and someone needs to make care decisions.
2. Not registering until it's too late. An LPA must be registered with the OPG before it can be used. Some donors fill the form and forget — registration takes 10 weeks; if capacity is lost before registration completes, the LPA can't be used.
3. Choosing "jointly" instead of "jointly and severally". Causes deadlocks. Default to severally unless there's a specific reason.
4. Not naming replacement attorneys. If your primary attorney dies, becomes ill, or becomes bankrupt (for property LPA), you lose attorney coverage. Always name at least one replacement.
5. Not ticking the life-sustaining treatment box on health LPA. If you want your attorneys (not just doctors) to make end-of-life decisions, you must explicitly grant this power.
6. Not telling attorneys where the registered LPA is kept. If no one knows where the document is, it's useless. Tell attorneys the location; consider a sealed envelope with your will.
7. Allowing only "customary" gifts. Limits IHT planning by attorneys. If you want attorneys to make bigger gifts for tax planning, the LPA must specify this.

Updating or revoking an LPA

An LPA can be updated or revoked only while the donor still has mental capacity. After capacity loss, the LPA continues to operate as drafted.

• Revoking: send a written "Deed of Revocation" to the OPG and notify your attorneys
• Replacing: register a new LPA; the OPG accepts the new one and the old one is automatically superseded (technically you can have multiple LPAs but most people prefer to revoke the old one)
• Updating attorneys: requires revoking and replacing. There's no "edit" function for a registered LPA.

Practical advice: review your LPAs every 5-10 years. Update if attorneys' circumstances change (marriage, divorce, death, falling-out) or if your wishes evolve.

IHT planning via LPA — the gift authorisation

If you have an estate likely to exceed the IHT thresholds (~£500k for individuals, more with spousal transfer), your attorneys may need to make substantial gifts during your incapacity to reduce IHT. The default LPA restricts attorneys to "customary" gifts.

For IHT-planning purposes, the LPA can include specific gift authorities:

• "My attorneys may make gifts up to the annual IHT exemption (currently £3,000) per year"
• "My attorneys may make gifts out of surplus income within the IHT exemption for normal expenditure out of income"
• "My attorneys may make larger gifts with Court of Protection approval, if such approval is given"

This is where a STEP-qualified solicitor adds real value. For an estate over £1m with active IHT exposure, the £500-£1,500 cost of a solicitor-drafted LPA is small relative to the potential IHT savings during incapacity.

Frequently asked questions

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