What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

Decisions the LPA Attorneys Can Make

The LPA donor chooses people they trust (LPA attorneys) to make decisions about things such as:

• Giving or refusing consent to particular types of health care, including medical treatment
• Getting help and support from social services
• Where the LPA donor lives – for example, whether the donor stays in their own home or moves into a care home
• Finding a good care home or care providers
• Day-to-day matters like the donor’s diet, dress, or daily routine

A health and welfare LPA attorney might need to spend the donor’s money on things that maintain or improve the donor’s quality of life. This can include:

• Hairdressing or new clothes
• Decorating the donor’s home or room in a care home
• Paying for extra support so the LPA donor can go out more, for example, to visit relatives or to go on holiday

The LPA attorney must ask for money from the person in charge of the LPA donor’s funds. In some cases, the same person may be an LPA attorney on both the LPA donor’s financial and property affairs LPA and health and welfare LPA.

When a Health and Welfare LPA Can Be Used

This type of LPA can only be used after it’s been registered and if the LPA donor does not have the mental capacity to make decisions. Find out more about when an LPA can be used.

Life-Sustaining Treatment

‘Life-sustaining treatment’ is medical treatment needed to keep someone alive. In their LPA, the LPA donor must choose whether their attorneys can give or refuse consent to life-sustaining treatment on their behalf.

Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment

An advance decision is a legally binding written statement. It lets someone say what medical treatment they do not want to have in certain situations. It’s sometimes called a ‘living will’. If the LPA donor already has an advance decision, and then makes a health and welfare LPA, the LPA might take priority when a decision needs to be made about life-sustaining treatment.

You can only make one LPA at a time. Once you’ve finished making this LPA, you can reuse the details you’ve entered to make another one. Remember, there is an application fee for each LPA.

Decisions LPA Attorneys Can Make

As a property and financial affairs LPA attorney, your role involves making decisions or helping the LPA donor make decisions about various financial matters. This could include:

• Managing money, taxes, and bills
• Handling bank and building society accounts
• Overseeing property and investments
• Taking care of pensions and benefits

You can start making these decisions while the LPA donor still has mental capacity if two conditions are met:

1. The Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) document explicitly says you can.
2. The LPA donor gives you permission to act.

If those conditions aren’t met, you’ll only step in to make decisions when the LPA donor no longer has the mental capacity to do so.

You’re allowed to use the LPA donor’s money to take care of their home and cover day-to-day needs like food and household expenses.

When your decisions impact the LPA donor’s living arrangements, medical care, or daily routine, it’s important to discuss these matters with their health and welfare LPA attorney (if they have one) to ensure everyone’s on the same page.

Example: If you decide to sell the LPA donor’s home, you should have a conversation with their health and welfare LPA attorney about where the LPA donor will live after the sale.

Looking After Money and Property

It’s essential to keep the LPA donor’s finances completely separate from your own, unless you already share something like a joint bank account or jointly own a home with them.

Managing the LPA Donor’s Money and Accounts

When dealing with banks, utility companies, or pension providers, they’ll ask for proof that you’re an LPA attorney. The LPA document serves as this proof. In some cases, you might also need to provide additional information, such as:

• Your name, address, and date of birth
• The donor’s name or address
• Account numbers or other specific details

Spending Money on Gifts or Donations

Unless the LPA states otherwise, you’re allowed to spend the LPA donor’s money on:

• Gifts for friends, family members, or acquaintances on special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries
• Donations to charities that the LPA donor would likely support, especially ones they’ve donated to in the past

For any other type of gift or donation—like paying someone’s school fees, letting someone live in the donor’s property rent-free, or giving out interest-free loans—you’ll need to get approval from the Court of Protection, even if the LPA donor has made similar gifts before.

Before making any gift or donation, you must ensure the LPA donor can afford it. For instance, you shouldn’t use the LPA donor’s money in a way that would leave them unable to cover their own care costs.

Buying and Selling Property

You’ll need to seek legal advice if you’re:

• Selling the property for less than its market value
• Looking to buy the property yourself
• Planning to transfer the property to someone else

Making a Will

If the LPA donor needs to make a will but can’t do it themselves, you can apply for what’s known as a statutory will. However, you cannot change the LPA donor’s existing will.

LPA attorneys are people the LPA donor appoints to make decisions on their behalf.

• A LPA donor can have 1 or more attorneys
• LPA attorneys must be 18 or over
• LPA attorneys must have mental capacity – the ability to make decisions

The most important thing is that the LPA attorneys are people the LPA donor can trust to respect their wishes and act in their best interests.

When they make a Lasting Power of Attorney, the LPA donor chooses one or more trusted people to make decisions (‘act’) on their behalf. These people are called LPA attorneys.

The LPA donor must choose at least one LPA attorney. They can have as many LPA attorneys as they want, but if there are too many, it may be difficult for them to all work together.

When making decisions for the LPA donor, the LPA attorneys must always:

• Act in the LPA donor’s best interests
• Follow any instructions the LPA donor put in their Lasting Power of Attorney
• Consider any preferences the LPA donor put in their Lasting Power of Attorney

The section “When a Lasting Power of Attorney can be used” explains when LPA attorneys can start acting on the LPA donor’s behalf. The section “The 2 types of Lasting Power of Attorney” explains the types of decisions the LPA attorneys will be able to make on the LPA donor’s behalf.

LPA attorneys need to sign the Lasting Power of Attorney before it can be registered.

The LPA donor should choose people they trust and know well. Many LPA donors choose family members or close friends to be their LPA attorneys. LPA attorneys do not need to be solicitors or have a legal background.

The LPA donor must decide:

• Who they want to appoint as their LPA attorney or attorneys
• Whether they want any replacement LPA attorneys—people who step in if one of the original LPA attorneys can no longer act
• How they want their LPA attorneys to work together

It’s important that:

• The LPA donor knows their LPA attorneys well
• The LPA attorneys understand the LPA donor’s beliefs and preferences well enough to make decisions for the LPA donor
• The LPA donor trusts their LPA attorneys to act in their best interests
• The LPA attorneys have the skills to act under the Lasting Power of Attorney. For example, do they manage their own affairs well? Are they good with money?

The LPA donor should fully discuss the Lasting Power of Attorney with their potential LPA attorneys before appointing them. Being an LPA attorney can be a lot of work.

Each LPA Attorney Must:

• Understand the role and responsibilities of an LPA attorney
• Agree to be the LPA donor’s attorney
• Sign the Lasting Power of Attorney
• Follow the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice

An LPA must have a LPA certificate provider, who must sign the LPA. The LPA certificate provider is an impartial person who helps protect the LPA donor’s interests by ensuring the donor understands the LPA and is making it of their own free will.

The cost of having a solicitor prepare your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) can vary quite a bit. Typically, you might be looking at £1,000+, depending on the complexity of your situation and the solicitor’s fees. They’re typically more expensive (no low fixed fee & likely additional costs, with many solicitors charging extra for consultations, admin, and revisions, all adding to the cost), slower (you may have to wait weeks for a solicitor’s availability & solicitor-led processes often involve back-and-forth emails and meetings) & harder (solicitors may overcomplicate things, making the process feel intimidating & you’ll likely need in-person meetings, adding hassle and time.) than using a service like PowerofAttorneyOnline.co.uk. Keep in mind, this is in addition to the £82 per application fee that the government charges to register each LPA.