What Can an Attorney Not Do With an LPA?

20th July 2026

There is a worry that giving someone Lasting Power of Attorney means handing over unlimited control of your life. Fortunately, that isn’t how the law works. So What Can an Attorney Not Do With an LPA? There are limits placed on attorneys and legal safeguards that protect the person who created the LPA. While attorneys can of course make important decisions, there are clear rules about what they can and can’t do.

An attorney can’t ignore the donor’s wishes

The person who creates the LPA remains at the centre of every decision that needs to be made.

If the donor still has mental capacity, they continue to make their own decisions. An attorney can’t just override those decisions simply because the LPA has been registered.

Even where the donor has lost capacity for a particular decision, attorneys should still involve them as much as possible and consider any wishes, beliefs and values they have expressed in the past.

Attorneys can’t use the donor’s money as their own

One of the biggest misconceptions is that an attorney gains ownership of the donor’s finances.

They absolutely don’t.

Attorneys manage money on the donor’s behalf, not for their own personal benefit. They can’t transfer money into their own account without proper authority, make gifts beyond the limited circumstances allowed by law or spend the donor’s money for their own personal reasons.

They should keep financial records and be able to explain significant decisions, if asked down the line.

There are decisions an LPA never allows

Some decisions remain personal and can’t just be delegated through a LPA.

For example, an attorney can’t make or change the donor’s Will. They can’t vote on the donor’s behalf in elections or consent to a marriage or civil partnership for them.

Health and Welfare attorneys also can’t make decisions until the donor lacks capacity to make that specific decision themselves.

These legal boundaries exist to protect the donor’s rights and independence for as long as possible.

Attorneys must follow the instructions in the LPA

Many people include preferences or legally binding instructions when creating their LPA.

Attorneys are expected to follow these wherever they apply.

If multiple attorneys have been appointed jointly, they have to make decisions together. They can’t simply ignore the way the donor has chosen for decisions to be made because it suits them.

The LPA itself sets out the authority the attorneys have, and they can’t go beyond it.

What happens if an attorney misuses their powers?

Most attorneys carry out their role carefully and responsibly.

If there are concerns that an attorney is acting dishonestly or failing to act in the donor’s best interests, the matter can be reported to the OPG.

The OPG has powers to investigate concerns and, in serious cases, the Court of Protection can remove an attorney or take further legal action.

Choosing an attorney is therefore about trust as much as practicality. An LPA applied for using a service like Power of Attorney Online gives someone the authority to help when it’s needed, but it also places them under clear legal duties when it’s registered. Those safeguards are designed to protect the donor while ensuring decisions are made by someone they chose themselves.