Removing or Changing a Power of Attorney: Your Complete Guide

01st October 2025

Setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) gives you peace of mind that trusted people can step in to make decisions if you lose capacity. But circumstances change, and so do relationships. You may want to remove, revoke, or change your Power of Attorney, or ensure you have a replacement attorney ready if one can no longer act. Here’s everything you need to know.

Can You Revoke a UK Power of Attorney?

Yes. As long as you still have mental capacity, you can revoke a Power of Attorney at any time. This applies to both Property and Financial Affairs LPAs and Health and Welfare LPAs.

To do this, you’ll need to complete a formal Deed of Revocation and send it to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). Once processed, the LPA is no longer valid, and your attorneys will have no authority to act on your behalf.

Changing a Power of Attorney

Sometimes you don’t want to revoke the whole document, just make changes. Unfortunately, LPAs cannot be amended once they’ve been signed and registered. If you want to change a Power of Attorney, for example, to add or remove attorneys, you’ll need to create and register a brand new LPA.

This may feel inconvenient, but it ensures the legal document is always clear, up to date and free from conflicting instructions.

Cancelling a Power of Attorney

If you’ve created an LPA but decide you no longer want it, you can cancel a Power of Attorney as long as you still have capacity. Like revoking, this is done with a Deed of Revocation.

It’s important to inform your attorneys that the LPA is cancelled, and to notify any banks, care providers or other organisations who may have been given copies of the document.

If you lose capacity, you cannot cancel an LPA yourself. In this case, concerns about the attorney’s behaviour must be raised with the OPG or the Court of Protection.

Removing an Attorney

If the issue is with a specific person, you may be wondering if you can simply remove an attorney. The process depends on whether the LPA has been registered:

• Before registration: you can cross out an attorney’s name and initial the change.
• After registration: you must revoke the entire LPA and set up a new one, unless a replacement attorney has already been named.

The Role of a Replacement Attorney

A replacement attorney is someone you appoint to step in if one of your original attorneys can no longer act. This could be due to death, illness, loss of capacity, or simply a decision to step down.

Having replacement attorneys is one of the best ways to future-proof your LPA. It avoids the need to cancel or create a new document if your chosen attorney can’t continue.

Whether you’re removing, revoking, changing, or cancelling a Power of Attorney, the key factor is capacity. While you have it, you remain in full control. Once capacity is lost, the Court of Protection may need to get involved if problems arise.

Planning ahead, including naming replacement attorneys, ensures your wishes are respected no matter what happens.

Ready to review or update your Power of Attorney? Power of Attorney Online makes the process clear, simple and stress-free.