LPA Instructions & Preferences Guide

By Matt Cresswell, Founder at Power of Attorney Online and author of
Everything you ever wanted to know about LPAs (but were afraid to ask)

05th August 2026

When people reach the instructions and preferences section of a Lasting Power of Attorney, it’s often where confidence suddenly disappears. Up until that point, most of the application is factual. Names, addresses and attorney details are usually straightforward. Then Section 7 appears, asking whether you want to add instructions or preferences, and many people worry they’re about to write something that invalidates the whole document.

The truth is that LPA Instructions & Preferences Guide exists because this single section causes more uncertainty than almost any other part of the application. Some people feel they ought to write something because leaving it blank seems incomplete. Others try to cover every possible future scenario, only to create wording that conflicts with the Mental Capacity Act or cannot work in practice.

In reality, one of the strongest decisions you can make is knowing when not to add anything at all.

Why this section causes so many problems

When we review applications at Power of Attorney Online, one pattern appears again and again.

People often believe the more detail they include, the better protected they’ll be. In practice, the opposite is frequently true.

The LPA already contains a carefully designed legal framework. Attorneys must always act in the donor’s best interests. They must follow the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They cannot simply spend money however they like or ignore the donor’s wishes.

Many applicants accidentally duplicate rules that already exist. Others unintentionally create contradictions.

For example, someone may write:

“My attorneys must always consult all of my children before making any decision.”

It sounds sensible. But what happens if one child can’t be contacted? What happens if an urgent hospital decision needs to be made overnight? What if the children disagree?

A sentence written with good intentions can make an attorney’s role far more difficult than the donor ever intended.

Instructions and preferences explained in plain English

The distinction is surprisingly simple.

A preference tells your attorneys what you would like them to consider.

An instruction tells your attorneys what they must do.

That difference matters because preferences give flexibility. Instructions remove it.

If circumstances change years later, an attorney can still respect the spirit of a preference while making the decision that’s genuinely in the donor’s best interests.

An instruction, however, has to be followed exactly. If it cannot be followed, it may stop attorneys acting altogether.

That is why instructions receive much greater scrutiny during registration.

A simple comparison

Preferences	Instructions
Express your wishes	Create legal obligations
Flexible	Legally binding
Usually easier for attorneys to apply	Can restrict attorneys significantly
Less likely to cause registration issues	More likely to be challenged if unclear
Often suitable for personal guidance	Best reserved for genuinely essential legal requirements

Why leaving Section 7 blank is often the strongest option

One of the biggest myths surrounding LPAs is that every box should contain something. It feels natural. People assume an empty section looks unfinished.

Actually, thousands of perfectly valid LPAs contain no additional wording whatsoever. That’s because the default legal powers already allow attorneys to manage finances, communicate with organisations, make healthcare decisions where appropriate and always act in the donor’s best interests.

Adding unnecessary wording doesn’t make those protections stronger. Sometimes it simply introduces more opportunities for confusion.

This is something we regularly explain during application reviews.

Many applicants initially draft several paragraphs of additional instructions before realising that everything they want is already covered by existing law. Removing unnecessary wording often makes the document stronger rather than weaker.

When a preference is usually the better choice

Preferences work well when you’re expressing values rather than creating rules.

Perhaps you’ve always supported a particular charity. Maybe you’d prefer to stay living near family if residential care ever became necessary. You may have strong feelings about environmentally responsible investments.

These aren’t legal requirements. They’re guidance that helps attorneys understand how you think.

Good attorneys generally appreciate this kind of context because it allows them to make decisions that genuinely reflect the donor’s wishes.

In our experience, the best preferences tend to answer a simple question:

“What would I want the people I trust to know about me?”

That’s very different from trying to anticipate every possible situation decades into the future.

Ten examples of preferences that work

The following examples are written in plain English and are generally suitable for many donors because they provide guidance without creating unnecessary legal restrictions. They should still reflect your own wishes rather than being copied without thought.

“I would prefer to remain living in my own home for as long as it is practical and safe.”

“I would like my attorneys to consult my close family before making major decisions whenever possible.”

“My attorneys should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making significant investments.”

“I would like my attorneys to support my regular charitable donations if my financial circumstances comfortably allow.”

“I would prefer my pets to remain with family members if possible.”

“I would like decisions about my healthcare to take account of my previously expressed wishes.”

“My attorneys should consider keeping sentimental possessions within the family wherever practical.”

“I would like my attorneys to balance preserving my savings with maintaining my quality of life.”

“I would prefer care arrangements that allow regular visits from family and friends.”

“I would like my attorneys to involve me in decisions for as long as I am able to participate.”

Notice something these examples have in common.

None of them says “must”. None creates an impossible legal obligation. Instead, they help attorneys understand the person behind the paperwork.

Ten examples of instructions that work

Unlike preferences, instructions are legally binding. Your attorneys must follow them exactly, so they should only be used where there is a clear reason for limiting what an attorney can do. If an instruction is too vague, impossible to carry out or conflicts with the law, it can cause delays or even be removed before the LPA is registered.

For most people, fewer instructions are better.

When you do need one, clarity matters far more than complexity.

Here are ten examples of instructions that are generally appropriate when they genuinely reflect the donor’s wishes.

“My attorneys must act jointly when selling my home.”

“My attorneys must obtain advice from a regulated financial adviser before making investments over £50,000.”

“My attorneys must not make gifts except as permitted by law.”

“My attorneys must not sell my home while I am living there unless it is no longer practical for me to remain there.”

“My attorneys must consult my GP before making significant health and welfare decisions where practicable.”

“My attorneys must keep accurate financial records of all transactions made on my behalf.”

“My attorneys must ensure my care needs are met before making discretionary gifts from my estate.”

“My attorneys must not benefit personally from my assets except where the law specifically allows.”

“My attorneys must act jointly when making decisions about buying or selling property.”

“My attorneys must follow any valid Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment that I have made.”

Even these examples should never be copied simply because they sound sensible. Every instruction narrows an attorney’s discretion. Before adding one, ask yourself whether the existing legal safeguards already achieve the same result.

Quite often, they do.

The wording that gets LPAs into trouble

One of the biggest misconceptions is that the Office of the Public Guardian checks whether they agree with what you’ve written.

They don’t. Their role is to decide whether your wording is legally workable.

Problems usually arise in four areas.

The first is uncertainty.

An instruction such as:

“My attorneys should only spend sensible amounts of money.”

raises more questions than it answers.

What counts as sensible?

£500?

£5,000?

Different attorneys could interpret it differently.

The second problem is impossibility. For example:

“All of my children must agree before any decision is made.”

This seems reasonable until one child dies, loses capacity, moves abroad or refuses to engage. Your attorneys may find themselves unable to act at all.

The third issue is conflict with the Mental Capacity Act.

People sometimes try to stop attorneys making decisions that the law specifically expects them to make. Others attempt to give attorneys powers they cannot legally have.

Neither works.

Finally, there is internal contradiction.

An LPA might state that attorneys can make decisions independently in one section but must act unanimously in another.

When instructions pull in opposite directions, they become difficult or impossible to apply.

What severance actually means

Many people have never heard the word severance until their LPA runs into difficulties.

It’s simply the legal process of removing invalid wording from an otherwise valid LPA.

Rather than rejecting the whole document, the Court of Protection can decide that a particular instruction or preference should be struck out so the remainder of the LPA can still operate.

That sounds reassuring. In reality, it is something most families would rather avoid.

Severance usually means extra correspondence, legal consideration and additional waiting while the issue is resolved.

The wording you carefully included to protect yourself may never take effect at all.

More importantly, it introduces uncertainty at precisely the point where families are hoping to get an LPA registered as quickly as possible.

The patterns we see most often

One advantage of reviewing applications every day is that you begin to recognise recurring themes.

The wording changes. The intention rarely does.

People want to protect themselves. They want to prevent arguments. They want to stop attorneys abusing their position.

All of those aims are understandable.

Yet many applicants try to achieve them by adding restrictive instructions instead of choosing trustworthy attorneys.

That’s the wrong place to solve the problem.

A Power of Attorney Online insight

Across the applications we review, Section 7 is consistently one of the most commonly amended parts of an LPA before submission. In the majority of those cases, our recommendation is not to add more wording, but to simplify or remove wording that creates unnecessary legal risk.

That’s an important point. Most people don’t need better legal language. They need less of it.

The hidden cost of unnecessary instructions

People often focus on whether an LPA will be accepted. A better question is whether it will actually work when it’s needed.

Imagine an attorney trying to sell a property to fund care fees. The instruction says every child must agree.

One child lives in Australia.

Another can’t be contacted.

A third disagrees with the sale.

Suddenly, an instruction written years earlier has become the biggest obstacle to paying for care.

The donor almost certainly never intended that outcome. The more conditions you attach to an attorney’s authority, the greater the chance those conditions become difficult to satisfy years later when circumstances have changed.

This is why experienced practitioners often favour carefully chosen attorneys over heavily restricted powers.

Good people, guided by clear preferences, usually make better decisions than rigid instructions written to anticipate every possible future scenario.

When should you leave Section 7 completely blank?

More often than you might think.

If your wishes are already reflected by the standard powers in the LPA, adding extra wording may offer no real benefit.

Leaving the section blank does not make your LPA weaker. It often makes it clearer. Ask yourself three simple questions before writing anything.

Does this already happen automatically under the Mental Capacity Act?

Would my attorneys know this about me without me writing it down?

Could this instruction accidentally make life harder in ten years’ time than it seems today?

If you’re unsure, it’s often worth seeking guidance before adding restrictions that may outlive the circumstances in which you wrote them.

A simple decision guide

If your aim is…	Consider…
Expressing a personal wish	A preference
Giving helpful guidance	A preference
Limiting an attorney’s legal authority	An instruction
Preventing abuse	Choosing the right attorneys rather than adding restrictions
You’re not sure	Leaving Section 7 blank until you’ve taken advice

Frequently asked questions

Can I add instructions after my LPA has been signed?

No. Once an LPA has been correctly signed, witnessed and completed, you cannot simply add new instructions. Changes usually require a new LPA to be prepared and signed.

Can the Office of the Public Guardian rewrite my wording?

No. The OPG cannot rewrite instructions for you. If wording creates legal problems, it may need to be removed through severance or require further consideration before registration.

Is it better to use lots of preferences?

Not necessarily. A handful of meaningful preferences usually provides more value than several pages covering every possible situation. The aim is to help your attorneys understand your values, not to write an instruction manual for every future decision.

Should I copy wording from the internet?

Be cautious. Every family is different, and wording that works well for one person may be unsuitable for another. Understanding why a preference or instruction is being included is more important than copying example text.

Final thoughts

The instructions and preferences section is one of the few parts of an LPA where your personality and priorities can genuinely come through.

That doesn’t mean you have to fill every available space.

Quite the opposite.

The strongest LPAs are usually those that give trusted attorneys enough flexibility to deal with real life while providing just enough guidance to help them make decisions in the way you would have wanted.

If you’re ever uncertain, remember this simple rule.

Preferences explain who you are. Instructions limit what your attorneys can do.

Knowing the difference could save months of delay and help ensure your LPA works exactly as you intended when it matters most.