What Is a Lasting Power of Attorney and Why Might You Need One?

What is a lasting power of attorney? A lasting power of attorney, commonly shortened to LPA, is a legal document that lets you appoint one or more people to help you make decisions or make specified decisions on your behalf.

You create an LPA while you have the mental capacity to understand the document and the authority you are granting. You are known as the donor, and the people you appoint are called attorneys.

Making an LPA does not prevent you from making decisions you have the capacity to make. Attorneys can act only within the authority given by the registered document and must follow the legal duties attached to their role.

Two Types of LPA Cover Different Decisions

There are two separate types of LPA in England and Wales. You can make either one or both.

The official guide to making and registering an LPA explains the two forms and the choices available when completing them.

Property and Financial Affairs LPA

This document may authorise your attorneys to:

• Manage bank or building society accounts
• Pay household, care or other bills
• Claim and use benefits, pensions or allowances
• Manage or sell investments
• Buy or sell property

You can choose whether attorneys may act as soon as the LPA is registered or only if you lose capacity. Where the document permits use while you have capacity, your attorneys may act only with your permission. You remain responsible for the financial decisions you can make yourself.

This may be useful if you still understand your financial affairs but need practical help because of reduced mobility, a prolonged hospital stay or difficulty managing paperwork.

Health and Welfare LPA

A health and welfare LPA may cover decisions about:

• Daily care and personal routines
• Medical treatment
• Where you live
• Care and support arrangements
• Contact with other people
• Life-sustaining treatment, where the document gives attorneys that authority

This type of LPA can be used only when you lack capacity to make the particular decision at the relevant time.



If you have made an advance decision to refuse treatment, consider how it will work alongside a health and welfare LPA. A later LPA that gives attorneys authority over the same treatment may affect an earlier advance decision. Conflicting or unclear instructions may require legal advice.

Why Mental Capacity Matters

You must be at least 18 and have mental capacity when you make an LPA. This means being able to understand what the document does, who you are appointing and the consequences of granting them authority.

A diagnosis does not by itself establish that someone lacks capacity. Capacity must be considered in relation to the specific decision and the time when it needs to be made. A person may be unable to make one complex decision but remain able to make other choices.

The government’s guidance on assessing mental capacity explains the factors that must be considered.

Once someone can no longer understand and create an LPA, relatives cannot sign one on their behalf. Depending on the decisions required, the Court of Protection may need to make a one-off decision or appoint a deputy.

The court may appoint a property and financial affairs deputy. Personal welfare deputies are generally appointed only in more limited circumstances. The Court of Protection deputyship guidance explains the broad process and responsibilities involved.

What to Consider When Choosing Attorneys

An attorney must be at least 18 and have mental capacity. They may be a relative, friend, spouse, partner or professional.

An undischarged bankrupt or a person subject to a Debt Relief Order cannot act as an attorney for property and financial affairs. This restriction does not apply to a health and welfare LPA.

Consider whether the person:

• Understands your values and priorities
• Can manage the decisions covered by the LPA
• Is willing to accept the responsibility
• Can communicate with relatives and professionals
• Is likely to remain available when needed
• Can put your interests ahead of their own

It is generally sensible to speak to each proposed attorney before naming them, so they understand and accept the role.

A professional attorney will usually charge for acting. Establish the likely fees and how they will be paid before making the appointment, and record any agreed payment instructions appropriately in the LPA.

How Can Several Attorneys Act?

You can appoint more than one attorney and decide how they should work.

Joint appointment may provide shared oversight, but it can be less flexible. If attorneys must act jointly and one can no longer act, the remaining attorneys will normally be unable to make those joint decisions unless the LPA contains workable alternative arrangements.

You can appoint replacement attorneys, but the wording and order of those arrangements matter. An unclear arrangement may prevent attorneys or replacements from acting as you intended.

Safeguards and Attorney Responsibilities

A certificate provider must confirm that you understand the LPA, are making it freely and are not being pressured. The donor and attorneys must also sign in the required order, with suitable witnesses.

You may add:

• Preferences, which explain how you would like attorneys to approach decisions
• Instructions, which attorneys must follow
• People to notify, who are informed when registration is requested

Preferences and instructions are not interchangeable. Vague, contradictory or impractical wording can create problems during registration or later use.

Attorneys must stay within the powers granted by the LPA and follow the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. They must support you to make your own decisions where possible and act in your best interests when deciding for you.

Financial attorneys must keep the donor’s money and property separate from their own, except where an asset is already jointly held. They must also keep appropriate records of important decisions and financial activity.

The government’s guidance on attorney records and duties explains these responsibilities in more detail.

How Do You Make and Register an LPA?

You can prepare an LPA yourself through the official online service or by using paper forms. Professional support is optional. The official guidance suggests considering advice where requirements or instructions are unusual or specific.

The process usually involves:

1. Deciding whether you need a financial LPA, a health and welfare LPA or both.
2. Choosing your attorneys and any replacements.
3. Deciding how multiple attorneys should act.
4. Recording any preferences or binding instructions.
5. Asking an eligible certificate provider to complete their section.
6. Signing the forms in the required order with the necessary witnesses.
7. Applying to the Office of the Public Guardian for registration.

An LPA cannot be used until it has been registered.

As at 31 July 2026, registration costs £92 for each LPA, or £184 for both. A reduction or exemption may be available depending on the donor’s income or benefits. Registration normally takes 8 to 10 weeks where there are no mistakes.

Check the current LPA registration fee and processing time before applying, as both may change.

Is an LPA the Same as a Will?

No. The documents operate at different stages.

An LPA applies during your lifetime and allows attorneys to deal with decisions covered by the registered document. Their authority ends when you die.

A will takes effect after death. It appoints executors and records how assets passing under the will should be distributed.

Having a will does not give an executor authority to manage your finances or care while you are alive. An LPA does not determine who inherits your estate after death.

Our will writing service provides further information about recording what you want to happen to your estate.

Common Misunderstandings About LPAs



“My Spouse or Adult Child Can Deal With Everything”

Being a spouse, civil partner or adult child does not automatically give someone the legal decision-making authority conferred by an LPA. Separate rights may apply to jointly owned assets or accounts.

“I Will Lose Control as Soon as I Sign”

Signing an LPA does not by itself transfer decision-making authority. It must first be registered.

You remain responsible for decisions you can make, although a financial attorney may also act while you have capacity where the registered LPA permits this and you give permission.

“One LPA Covers Health and Money”

The two types are separate. A financial attorney does not gain health and welfare powers unless they are also appointed under a health and welfare LPA.

“LPAs Are Only for Older People”

An adult of any age may be affected by an accident or illness that makes decision-making difficult. Whether an LPA is suitable depends on the decisions you want covered and who is available to act.

Planning an LPA While You Have Capacity

An LPA allows you to record who may help you or act for you if decision-making becomes difficult. How the attorneys and replacements are appointed can determine whether the document remains workable later.

Maplebrook Wills offers a Lasting Powers of Attorney service, with appointments available at our Merthyr Tydfil office, at home or online. Visit the page to view the available appointment options.

You can also contact Maplebrook Wills to arrange an initial conversation.