What is a Lasting Power of Attorney, and do you really need one?

A will decides what happens after you die. A Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA, protects you while you are still alive, if illness or an accident ever meant you could not make decisions for yourself. It is one of the most important, and most overlooked, parts of planning ahead.

Most people get round to a will eventually. Far fewer get round to an LPA, and in day to day terms the LPA is often the one their family ends up needing first.

What an LPA actually is

An LPA is a legal document in which you, while you have mental capacity, choose one or more people you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you later cannot.

The person making it is the donor. The people chosen are attorneys, which in this context simply means someone authorised to act for you; it has nothing to do with American lawyers. An LPA has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used.

The two types, and why most people need both

Property and financial affairs. Managing your bank accounts, paying your bills, dealing with pensions and investments, and if necessary selling your home to pay for care. This one can be used while you still have capacity if you allow it, which is useful if you simply want help rather than a replacement.

Health and welfare. Decisions about your medical treatment, your daily care, and where you live. This one can only ever be used once you have lost capacity to make the decision yourself.

You can make one or both, and you decide who acts and what powers they have. Most people who make one end up wanting both, because they cover completely different problems. A financial LPA does not let anyone speak for you about your care, and a health LPA does not let anyone pay your mortgage.

What happens if you do not have one

People often assume a spouse or a grown-up child can simply take over. They cannot, not automatically, and this is the single biggest misunderstanding in this area.

Without an LPA, your family has to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your deputy. That process is slower, more expensive and considerably more stressful than putting an LPA in place beforehand. It typically takes many months. There is an application fee, and a deputy usually has to be supervised and insured through a security bond, with fees that recur every year.

In the meantime, accounts in your sole name can be frozen. Bills still have to be paid. Decisions about care may need to be made by professionals rather than by the people who know you.

And the court, not you, decides who is appointed. It may not be the person you would have chosen.

Why a joint account is not the answer

A common assumption is that a joint bank account covers it. It helps, but only for that account, and banks can and do restrict joint accounts when one holder loses capacity. It does nothing about your pension, your sole accounts, your property, or any decision about your care.

When you can make one, and why timing matters

This is the crucial point. You can only make an LPA while you still have mental capacity. Once capacity is lost, the door closes and the only route left is the Court of Protection.

That means an LPA is one of those things that is easy to arrange right up until the moment it becomes impossible. Nobody schedules a stroke. The safe time to do it is while you are fit and well and it feels unnecessary.

Choosing your attorneys

Worth thinking about properly rather than defaulting to the obvious person.

Choose people you genuinely trust with money and with judgment, who are likely to outlive you, and who are willing to do it. Ask them first. Being appointed without warning is not a pleasant surprise.

You can appoint more than one, and you decide whether they must act jointly, meaning all decisions together, or jointly and severally, meaning any of them can act alone. Jointly and severally is usually more practical, because requiring unanimity for every small decision becomes unworkable, particularly if one attorney is abroad or unwell.

You can also name replacement attorneys in case your first choice cannot act, which is worth doing.

What it costs, including the government fee

For transparency, our fees are a single LPA from £195, or both types from £395 for one person. For a couple wanting both types each, it is from £695. All including VAT, fixed and confirmed in writing before we start.

Separately, the Office of the Public Guardian charges £92 to register each LPA. That is a government fee, not ours; we show it separately and pass it on at cost. So one person registering both types pays £184 to the OPG.

A reduction is available if your gross annual income is under £12,000, and an exemption if you receive certain means-tested benefits. If that might apply to you, say so and we will point you at the right form rather than letting you pay something you did not have to.

Full detail is on our LPA page and our pricing page.

How long it takes

Preparing and signing the documents is usually quick. Registration is the slow part: the Office of the Public Guardian says it takes eight to ten weeks if there are no mistakes in the application, and longer if there are.

An unregistered LPA cannot be used, so this is not something to start when it is already needed. Build the wait into your thinking.

Do you really need one?

Honestly, not everyone rushes to make one, and that is a personal decision we are not going to push you on.

But the arithmetic is worth seeing plainly. An LPA costs a few hundred pounds and some paperwork now, while you are well. A deputyship costs considerably more, takes months, recurs annually, and happens at the worst moment your family will ever face. For most adults, and especially anyone who owns a home, runs a business or has people who depend on them, it is well worth having.

If you would like to think through whether an LPA is right for you, we are glad to help, with no pressure either way. Get in touch whenever suits you.

General information, not legal advice. Fees correct at the time of writing.