Lasting power of attorney UK

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you, the “donor”, choose one or more people, called attorneys, to help you make decisions or to make them for you if you can’t. In England and Wales you can make one online, it costs £92 to register each LPA, and it only works once the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has registered it. Below we explain the two types, who to pick, how long it takes and how an LPA sits alongside your will.

TL;DR

There are two types of LPA: Property and Financial Affairs, and Health and Welfare. Most people make both.
It costs £92 per LPA to register in England and Wales. Lower-income donors may pay less or nothing.
An LPA can’t be used until it is registered. Registration currently takes about 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes, so don’t wait until you need it.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have different systems, so check which rules apply to you.
An LPA covers you while you are alive. A will covers what happens after you die. You need both.

What a lasting power of attorney does

An LPA is a way of deciding now who will speak for you later. Life changes such as dementia, a stroke or a serious accident can leave you unable to make some decisions. Without an LPA, your family may have to ask the Court of Protection to appoint a deputy, which is slower and more costly than planning ahead.

The key terms are simple:

Donor: you, the person making the LPA.
Attorney: the person you appoint. You can choose one or more people.
Replacement attorney: someone who steps in if an attorney can no longer act.
Certificate provider: an independent person who confirms you understand what you are signing and are not being pressured.

The word “lasting” matters. The LPA replaced the older enduring power of attorney (EPA), which was narrower in scope. An ordinary power of attorney, by contrast, stops working if you lose mental capacity. Citizens Advice lists all three types if you want to see how they differ.

The two types of LPA

The two types cover different parts of your life. They are separate documents, each with its own registration fee.

	Property and Financial Affairs	Health and Welfare
What it covers	Money, bank accounts, bills, property	Medical treatment, care, where you live
When it can be used	As soon as it is registered, or only after you lose capacity if you say so	Only once you have lost the mental capacity to make that decision yourself
Typical decisions	Paying care fees, managing a pension, selling a house	Agreeing treatment, choosing a care home

This comes from the government’s guidance on managing a lasting power of attorney. Note the difference in timing. A financial LPA can be useful even while you are well, for example if you are abroad or find banking hard. A health and welfare LPA never takes effect while you can decide for yourself.

Using a financial LPA while you still have capacity

A registered Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used while the donor still has capacity, unless it says otherwise. If you only want it to apply once you have lost capacity, write that into the document when you make it. Think about this carefully. A “only if I lose capacity” condition can slow things down, because your attorneys may have to prove that you lack capacity before a bank will accept the LPA.

Who can be an attorney, and how to choose

An attorney must be 18 or over and, for financial decisions, not bankrupt. They must also be willing to take the role on. Beyond those rules, the choice is personal.

The Alzheimer’s Society advises picking someone you trust who is reliable and will act in your best interests. It also recommends talking the role through with them before you name them. Think about:

Skills and time. Managing money means paperwork, calls to banks and sometimes difficult decisions.
Location. A child abroad may be trusted but hard to use in practice.
Family dynamics. If siblings might disagree, consider how your choice will look to them, and tell them in advance.
Age and health. An attorney your own age may not be able to act when you need them.

One attorney or several?

If you appoint more than one, you decide whether they act separately (“jointly and severally”), together on everything (“jointly”), or together on some decisions and separately on others. Acting separately is more flexible, because either can sign. Acting jointly adds a check, but it stops working if one attorney dies or loses capacity, unless you have named replacements. The government recommends thinking about replacement attorneys so the LPA does not fail.

Three ways multiple LPA attorneys can act

What attorneys must do

Attorneys must act in your best interests, keep your money separate from their own, and support you to make your own decisions wherever possible. The OPG says concerns about misuse of an LPA can be reported through an online service.

How to make and register an LPA

The process in England and Wales has four stages.

Decide the type and your attorneys. Think about replacement attorneys, how they act, and any instructions or preferences you want to record.
Complete the forms. You can use the government’s online service to make an LPA, which gives step-by-step guidance. The OPG also publishes a guide to making and registering your LPA that is worth reading before you begin.
Sign it. You, the certificate provider and your attorneys all sign, in the right order and with witnesses where the form requires. Mistakes here are a common reason for rejection.
Register it with the OPG. Registration is the step that makes the LPA usable.

What it costs

You can create the LPA online for free. The cost is registration: £92 for each LPA in England and Wales. A Property and Financial Affairs LPA plus a Health and Welfare LPA means two fees, so £184 for one person. A couple making both types each would pay for four LPAs.

If you have a low income or receive certain benefits, you may qualify for a reduced fee or a full exemption. The government’s registration page explains who is eligible and what to send. Fees can change, so check that page before you apply.

How long it takes

The government says registration currently takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes. If the OPG finds errors, it takes longer. Its guidance on managing an LPA mentions 8 to 16 weeks as a wider range. Either way, the lesson is the same: apply while you are well, not when a crisis arrives.

Common mistakes to avoid

Signing in the wrong order.
Leaving out details of replacement attorneys.
Choosing a certificate provider who does not meet the independence rules.
Sending the wrong fee, or forgetting the paperwork for a reduced fee.

If you want a second pair of eyes, a solicitor can check your LPA before you send it. You can also find a financial adviser or solicitor through our directory.

Using an LPA once it is registered

A registered LPA is the document that gives your attorneys authority. Banks, care providers and other organisations will want proof. The OPG’s online Use an LPA service lets an attorney generate an access code and share the LPA’s details securely, so they don’t need to keep handing over paper copies. Since 2023, any instructions and preferences you wrote into the LPA are visible through these services too, so organisations can see them without the paper original.

Instructions and preferences

These are your chance to guide your attorneys. Preferences are wishes they should consider, such as which doctor you like to see. Instructions are rules they must follow, such as never selling your home. Keep instructions few and clear. A tightly drawn instruction can stop an attorney doing something sensible that you didn’t foresee.

When an LPA ends

Usually an LPA ends because the donor has died. Attorneys must report the death to the OPG, and from that point they have no authority to act. This is where an LPA and a will meet. The attorney’s job stops at death, and the executor named in the will takes over.

LPA versus will: you need both

People often ask which is more powerful. They do different jobs:

	Lasting power of attorney	Will
Works	While you are alive	After you die
Who acts	Attorneys	Executors
Covers	Decisions about your money, health and care	Who inherits, guardians for children, funeral wishes
Registered with	The OPG	Not registered, but must be signed and witnessed correctly

If you make only a will, no one has legal authority to manage your bank accounts if you lose capacity. If you make only an LPA, your estate is shared under the rules of intestacy when you die, which may not match what you want. Making both closes the gap.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Everything above is for England and Wales. The rules differ elsewhere in the UK:

Scotland: continuing (financial) and welfare powers of attorney are governed by the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
Northern Ireland: the enduring power of attorney is still the system for financial affairs, though the Mental Capacity Act (NI) 2016 includes provisions for a new LPA system that is being rolled out in stages. See nidirect for the current position.

If you live in one nation but own property in another, take advice from a solicitor in the relevant place.

What is changing

The Powers of Attorney Act 2023 is meant to make the system safer, simpler and better suited to digital use. The OPG has said it plans a service where you can complete an LPA online, on paper, or a mix of both. Rules and timings can change, so check GOV.UK for the process in force on the day you apply. Don’t delay making an LPA to wait for reforms: an LPA made under today’s rules stays valid.

Our view: an LPA is half of the plan

We built WillFull around estate planning, so we see what happens when the pieces don’t fit together. An LPA protects you while you are alive. A will protects the people you leave behind. In between sits a quieter problem: information. Attorneys and, later, executors often don’t know what you own. Pensions, old bank accounts, insurance policies, business interests and online logins go unfound, and assets are lost.

Our advice is practical:

Make the LPAs first if you are unwell or getting older. They take weeks to register, and a will does not help if you can’t manage your affairs.
Write a will in the same sitting. Many people tackle both in one afternoon.
Keep a record of what you own. A list of accounts, policies and property, kept up to date, saves your attorneys and executors months of searching.
Tell people where things are. Choosing the right attorney matters less if they can’t find the information they need.

An LPA is a legal tool. It is not a substitute for advice if your situation is complicated, for example a blended family, a business, or property abroad.

— the WillFull team

Pairing your LPA with a will

We don’t make LPAs, but we can help with the next step. With WillFull you can write a legally valid will online through plain-English questions, and record your property, accounts, pensions, insurance and digital assets. Our Will + Connected estate plan costs £9.99 per month and keeps those details up to date, so your executors have what they need in one place. If someone has died and there is no active plan, executors can get Connected estate access for a one-off £200. If you want a solicitor to check an LPA or advise on tax, our adviser directory is a good place to start.

FAQ

Can I make a lasting power of attorney without a solicitor?

Yes. You can make an LPA yourself using the government’s online service, which guides you through each step. A solicitor is optional, but it can help if your family situation or finances are complicated.

Can an LPA be used while I still have mental capacity?

A registered Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used straight away unless you state it should only apply once you lose capacity. A Health and Welfare LPA can only be used when you can no longer make the decision yourself. GOV.UK sets out both rules.

How much does a lasting power of attorney cost in the UK?

In England and Wales, it is £92 to register each LPA. Making the LPA online is free. If your income is low or you receive certain benefits, you may pay less or nothing. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fees and procedures.

What is more powerful, a will or a power of attorney?

Neither outranks the other, because they apply at different times. An LPA works during your life and ends when you die. A will only takes effect after your death, so you need both.

Lasting power of attorney UK: types, cost and how to make one