A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to make arrangements to ensure that if an accident or illness were to affect your mental capacity to act or make decisions for yourself, your personal and financial affairs will be looked after by a person(s) that you choose.
By making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) you can choose who will make decisions for you if you become unable to make them for yourself. Without an LPA in place, even your close family members do not have an automatic authority to act on your behalf and they will have to make an application to the court. The court will decide who to appoint and this may be someone you would not ordinarily choose to make such decisions.
Your attorney must always act in your best interests and follow a strict code of conduct which includes taking account of any views you have expressed in the past.
These documents allow the named attorney(s) to make decisions on behalf of the donor regarding his or her health and welfare which can include, where appropriate, medical treatment decisions.
This type of LPA allows your attorney(s) to make decisions, such as:
These documents give the named attorney(s) the power to make decisions regarding the donor’s finances and property.
This type of LPA allows your attorney(s) to make decisions, such as:
You do not need to have both types of LPA. If you do choose to put both in place, you can name different attorneys for each form.
Existing Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) must be registered when the donor has lost or is losing, their mental capacity to deal with their own affairs. Applications must be made on prescribed forms and notices must be served on at least three people, those people being defined by a statutory list of family members.
Lasting Powers of Attorney must be registered before use, regardless of whether the donor has lost capacity. Unlike Enduring Powers of Attorney, the donor or the attorneys can seek to have a Lasting Powers of Attorney registered. Again, applications must be made on prescribed forms and notices must be served but with Lasting Powers of Attorney, those notices are served on people chosen by the donor (who are specified in the Lasting Powers of Attorney form itself).
Anyone on whom notice of the application to register a Power of Attorney is served (including the donor) has the right to object to the registration on one or more of a number of specified grounds. If, however, there are no objections the Office of the Public Guardian generally register the Power of Attorney within six to eight weeks (although it can take longer).
Fill in our online LPA Questionnaire and contact one of our specialist Lasting Powers of Attorney solicitors to make an appointment.
Yes, you are able to stipulate that the LPA can only come into effect when you have lost the ability to manage finances or health and welfare.
In England and Wales, an LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. The registration fee is currently £82 for each type of LPA. If you have a low income or receive income-related benefits, you could be exempt from paying the registration fee.
Yes, you can. If you’ve been diagnosed with dementia we would recommend consulting an LPA solicitor who can help you determine whether you have the mental capacity to make one.
You can fill out the forms yourself, or you can ask one of our experienced Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) solicitors to help. It is worth remembering that an LPA is an important legal document and taking professional advice can stop problems later on. Professional advice is always recommended if you are unsure how to fill in the form or if your affairs are particularly complex. You must have your LPA signed by a certificate provider, who will confirm that you are of sound mind and are not under undue influence. The LPA must then be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used. You must register your LPA while you still have mental capacity.
