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Power of Attorney: The Kindest Paperwork You'll Ever Do
A Lasting Power of Attorney lets someone you trust make decisions for you if illness ever means you can't. Setting it up early is quick and inexpensive — leaving it too late is neither.
Here's the misunderstanding that catches families out: being someone's husband, wife or child gives you no automatic right to manage their money or make care decisions if they lose the ability to decide for themselves. Without a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place, the alternative is applying to the Court of Protection for a deputyship — slower, more expensive, more intrusive, and all at the worst possible time.
The crucial point: an LPA can only be made while the person still has mental capacity. It's paperwork for sunny days, like insurance.
The key facts
There are two types of LPA — property & financial affairs (bills, banking, the house) and health & welfare (care decisions, medical treatment, where to live). Most people make both. Each costs £92 to register (half price if the person's income is under £12,000; free with certain benefits). You can do the whole thing yourself online — no solicitor required for straightforward situations.
How to Set One Up
Choose attorneys — carefully
One or more people the person genuinely trusts. More than one is sensible (jointly, or "jointly and severally" so either can act alone — the flexible option most families choose). A backup attorney is wise too.
Fill in the forms online
The official service at GOV.UK walks you through it. You'll need a "certificate provider" — someone who confirms the person understands what they're signing (a long-standing friend or a professional).
Register with the Office of the Public Guardian
The LPA must be registered before it can ever be used — £92 per LPA, and registration currently takes several weeks, which is another reason not to wait for a crisis.
Tell the people who'll need to know
Banks, the GP, the care provider. Attorneys can share LPAs digitally with organisations using the OPG's "Use a lasting power of attorney" service, which spares everyone the certified-copies dance.
If capacity has already been lost, an LPA is no longer possible — the route is a deputyship through the Court of Protection. It works, but it's slower and costlier, and health-and-welfare deputyships are rarely granted. If your family is in that position, a solicitor who specialises in later-life law is worth their fee; Solicitors for the Elderly is the directory to start with.
Fee and process checked on GOV.UK in July 2026 (the registration fee rose to £92 in November 2025). This guide is general information, not legal advice — for complex family or financial situations, use a specialist solicitor.
Planning ahead for someone you love?
We're happy to be part of the conversation — families often sort the paperwork and the future care plan together, while everyone can still have a say.