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 can ask anyone aged 18 or over who has mental capacity to be their LPA attorney.
A person on the Disclosure and Barring Service barred list cannot act as an LPA attorney. They’re breaking the law if they do. An undischarged bankrupt or a person subject to a debt relief order cannot be an LPA attorney for a property and financial affairs Lasting Power of Attorney.
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
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:
- The Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) document explicitly says you can.
- 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.
Some LPA donors ask a professional, such as a solicitor or accountant, to be their LPA attorney or one of their LPA attorneys. Professional LPA attorneys usually charge fees. If the LPA donor appoints a professional LPA attorney, they must name an individual in the LPA. They cannot just give a job title or the name of a firm.
The LPA donor can appoint their wife, husband, or civil partner as an attorney. This person will usually have to stop being an LPA attorney if the marriage or civil partnership is later ended through divorce, dissolution, or annulment. If they’re the only LPA attorney and there are no replacements, this means the LPA can no longer be used.
In their instructions, the LPA donor can state that their wife, husband, or civil partner can continue to be their LPA attorney after a divorce, dissolution, or annulment.
Before you take on the role of an LPA attorney, it’s a good idea to have a conversation with the LPA donor (the person who appointed you). Get a clear understanding of their wishes, like how they want their money managed or what kind of care they’d prefer if they become seriously ill. This will help you make decisions that truly reflect what they want.
Make sure the LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney) is registered before you do anything. You can’t act as an LPA attorney until it’s officially registered, and this process can take up to 16 weeks. You’ll know it’s registered when you see the ‘validated-OPG’ stamp on the document.
Also, double-check the specific decisions you’re allowed to make and when you can start acting in your role, depending on whether you’re a:
- Property and Financial Affairs Attorney
- Health and Welfare Attorney
Once you’re officially acting as an LPA attorney, there are some important things to keep in mind:
- Follow the Instructions: Stick to any specific instructions the LPA donor included in the LPA.
- Consider their preferences: Take into account any preferences the LPA donor mentioned in the LPA, even if they’re not strict instructions.
- Support their decision making: Help the LPA donor make their own decisions as much as possible.
- Act in their best Interests: Every decision you make should be in the LPA donor’s best interests, respecting their human and civil rights.
- Make decisions yourself: You’re the one responsible for making decisions, so you can’t delegate that responsibility to someone else.
If you ever face tough decisions, don’t hesitate to seek advice on how to proceed. Remember, your decisions as an LPA attorney can be reviewed or checked.
If you’re not the only LPA Attorney
If there are other LPA attorneys involved, check the LPA to see how you’re supposed to make decisions:
- ‘Jointly’: This means all LPA attorneys must agree on a decision.
- ‘Jointly and Severally’: This means you can make decisions together with the other LPA attorneys or on your own.
The LPA might also specify that some decisions need to be made jointly, while others can be made jointly and severally.
When the LPA donor—the person who appointed you as their LPA attorney—passes away, the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) automatically ends. It’s important to notify the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) about the donor’s death.
Stopping Before the LPA Donor Passes Away
If you decide you no longer want to act as an LPA attorney, you can step down from your role, which is often called ‘disclaiming’ your attorneyship. There are also situations where the law requires you to stop acting as an LPA attorney.
If there are any replacement LPA attorneys named in the LPA, they will take over your responsibilities. If no replacements are named, there might be other legal options to help the donor make decisions.
What To Do If You Choose to Stop
If you decide to stop acting as an LPA attorney, you’ll need to fill out and send a notification form to:
- The LPA donor, if the LPA hasn’t been registered yet
- The LPA donor and the OPG (using the address on the form), if the LPA is registered
- Any other LPA attorneys listed on the LPA
When You Must Stop Acting as an LPA Attorney
You’re required to stop acting as an LPA attorney in the following situations:
- The LPA donor removes you from the LPA (this is called ‘revoking’ your attorneyship).
- You lose your own mental capacity and can no longer make decisions.
- If you’re a property and financial affairs attorney and you become bankrupt or are subject to a debt relief order.
- If you’re married to or in a civil partnership with the donor and you get divorced or your partnership is annulled (unless the LPA specifies that you can continue as an attorney).
- If you’re acting as a joint LPA attorney and one of the other LPA attorneys stops acting, unless the LPA allows you to continue making decisions on your own.
An LPA attorney can no longer act if they:
- Lose mental capacity
- Decide they no longer want to act as an LPA attorney (known as ‘disclaiming their appointment’)
- Were the LPA donor’s wife, husband, or civil partner, but the relationship has legally ended (unless the LPA donor states otherwise in their instructions)
- Become bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order and were an LPA attorney for a property and financial affairs LPA
- Are placed on the Disclosure and Barring Service barred list
When an attorney dies or can no longer act, the LPA will be cancelled if:
- The LPA donor only appointed one LPA attorney and no replacement LPA attorneys
- The LPA donor appointed the LPA attorneys jointly and did not appoint any replacements, unless the LPA donor specified otherwise in their instructions
To protect their LPA, the LPA donor should consider appointing replacement LPA attorneys.
If the LPA donor cancels their LPA, the LPA attorneys can no longer act on the LPA donor’s behalf.
If an LPA attorney on any type of LPA is placed on the Disclosure and Barring Service barred list, they’ll no longer be able to act as an LPA attorney. They’re breaking the law if they do. If they’re the only LPA attorney and there are no replacements, this means the LPA can no longer be used.
If an LPA attorney on a property and financial affairs LPA becomes bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order after the LPA is registered, they’ll no longer be able to act. If they’re the only LPA attorney and there are no replacements, this means the LPA can no longer be used. People who are bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order can still be LPA attorneys on a health and welfare LPA.
It can be a good idea to appoint more than one attorney for your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). Appointing multiple LPA attorneys can provide greater flexibility and oversight. They can either make decisions together (jointly) or individually (jointly and severally), depending on how you set up the LPA. Having more than one LPA attorney can also help ensure that decisions are made in your best interest, with your LPA attorneys consulting each other and sharing responsibilities. It’s important to choose people who communicate well and can work together effectively.