A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf.

This gives you more control over what happens to you if, for example, you have an accident or an illness and can’t make decisions at the time they need to be made (you ‘lack mental capacity’).

There are 2 types of LPA:

• health and welfare
• property and financial affairs

You can choose to make one type or both.

How to make a lasting power of attorney

1. Choose your attorney (you can have more than one).
2. Fill in the forms to appoint them as an attorney.
3. Register your LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian (this can take up to 10 weeks).

It costs £110 to register an LPA unless you get a reduction or exemption.

Health and welfare lasting power of attorney

Use this LPA to give an attorney the power to make decisions about things like:

• your daily routine, eg washing, dressing, eating
• medical care
• moving into a care home
• life-sustaining treatment

Property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney

Use this LPA to give an attorney the power to make decisions about money and property for you, for example:

• managing a bank or building society account
• paying bills
• collecting benefits or a pension
• selling your home

Help deciding if you should make a lasting power of attorney

Contact the Office of the Public Guardian if you need help.

You can choose one or more people to be your attorney. If you appoint more than one, you must decide whether they’ll make decisions separately or together.

Who can be your attorney

Your attorney can be anyone 18 or over, such as:

• a relative
• a friend
• a professional, eg a solicitor
• your husband, wife or partner

You must appoint someone who has the mental capacity to make their own decisions.

When choosing an attorney, think about:

• how well they look after their own affairs, eg their finances
• how well you know them
• if you trust them to make decisions in your best interests
• how happy they will be to make decisions for you

Read about an attorney’s responsibilities to help you with your decision.

If there’s more than one attorney

If you’re appointing more than one person, you must decide if they’ll make decisions:

• separately or together – sometimes called ‘jointly and severally’ – which means attorneys can make decisions on their own or with other attorneys
• together – sometimes called ‘jointly’ – which means all the attorneys have to agree on the decision

You can also choose to let them make some decisions ‘jointly’, and others ‘jointly and severally’.

Replacement attorneys

When you make your LPA you can nominate other people to replace your attorney or attorneys if at some point they can’t act on your behalf anymore.

You can make a lasting power of attorney (LPA) online or using paper forms.

Either way, you need to get other people to sign the forms, including the attorneys and witnesses.

You can get someone else to use the online service or fill in the paper forms for you, for example a family member, friend or solicitor.

Make an LPA online

Create an account to start your LPA.

You can:

• get help and guidance at each step
• save your forms and complete them later
• review your answers and fix any mistakes

You need to print out the forms and sign them when you’ve finished.

Log in to your account

Sign in to continue making your LPA.

Get help

Ask the Office of the Public Guardian about organisations that can help if you:

• don’t have a computer or internet access
• want to use the online service but need some help

Use the paper forms

You can either:

• download the forms and print them out
• ask for the forms to be posted to you

You must also register your LPA or your attorney won’t be able to make decisions for you.

When you’ve made your lasting power of attorney (LPA), you need to register it with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

It takes between 8 and 10 weeks to register an LPA if there are no mistakes in the application.

You can apply to register your LPA yourself if you’re able to make your own decisions.

Your attorney can also register it for you. You’ll be told if they do and you can object to the registration.

Notify people

Before you register, send a form to notify people (LP3) to all the ‘people to notify’ (also called ‘people to be told’) you listed in the LPA.

They’ll have 3 weeks to raise any concerns with OPG.

How to register

Apply to register as soon as you’ve sent forms to notify people.

There are 4 ways to register, depending on how you made your LPA:

• use the online service, if that’s what you used to make your LPA
• fill in sections 12 to 15 of your form if you made your LPA using paper forms LP1F or LP1H
• download and fill in the application to register (LP2) if you made your LPAusing paper forms LPA114 or LPA117
• download and fill in the application to register (LP2) if you made your LPAusing paper forms LPA PA or LPA PW

If you’re using a paper form to register, you need sign it and send it to OPG. The address is on the form. Make sure you include the original LPA form and the fee.

You can send a certified copy if you don’t have the original form. Say in a covering letter why you don’t have the original.

How much it costs

It costs £110 to register each LPA unless:

• you get a reduction or exemption
• you’ve made a small mistake in your form – depending on the type of mistake, OPG may let you correct it and apply again within 3 months for £55

Registering a property and financial affairs LPA and a health and welfare LPAcosts £220.

You can pay by credit card, debit card or cheque.

Paying by cheque

Make your cheque payable to ‘Office of the Public Guardian’ and write your name on the back. Send it to OPG with your forms.

Get a reduction or exemption

You may not have to pay the fees if you’re on means-tested benefits or a low income.

Apply for a reduction or exemption if you’re eligible.

You can confirm that a copy of your lasting power of attorney (LPA) is genuine by ‘certifying’ it if you’re still able to make your own decisions.

You or your attorney can use a certified copy to register your LPA if you don’t have the original form.

Your attorney can also use the certified copy to prove they have permission to make decisions on your behalf, eg to manage your bank account.

How to certify a copy

Write the following text on the bottom of every page of the copy:

“I certify this is a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original lasting power of attorney.”

On the final page of the copy, you must also write:

“I certify this is a true and complete copy of the lasting power of attorney.”

You need to sign and date every page.

Other ways to certify a copy

Copies of your LPA can also be certified by:

• a solicitor
• a person authorised to carry out notarial activities

You can end or change your lasting power of attorney (LPA) even if it’s been registered, as long as you still have mental capacity.

You can also complain if you have concerns about your attorney, for example they’re not carrying out their responsibilities properly.

How to end your lasting power of attorney

You must make a written statement called a ‘deed of revocation’ and send it to OPG.

Use the following wording. Replace the words in the square brackets with the relevant details.

Deed of revocation

“This deed of revocation is made by [your name] of [your address].

1: I granted a lasting power of attorney for Property and Financial Affairs/Health and Welfare (delete as appropriate) on [date you signed the lasting power of attorney] appointing [name of first attorney] of [address of first attorney] and [name of second attorney] of [address of second attorney] to act as my attorney(s).

2: I revoke the lasting power of attorney and the authority granted by it.

Signed and delivered as a deed [your signature]
Date signed [date]
Witnessed by [signature of witness]
Full name of witness [name of witness]
Address of witness [address of witness]”

How to change your lasting power of attorney

You can also make a partial deed of revocation to remove a person from the LPA.

Use the following wording. Replace the words in the square brackets with the relevant details.

Partial deed of revocation

“This partial deed of revocation is made by [donor’s name] of [donor’s address].

1: I granted a lasting power of attorney for Property and Financial Affairs/Health and Welfare [delete as appropriate] on [date donor signed the lasting power of attorney] appointing [name of first attorney] of [address of first attorney] and [name of second attorney] of [address of second attorney] to act as my attorney(s).

2: I hereby revoke [attorney’s name that you are revoking] ONLY from the lasting power of attorney and the authority granted to him/her.

Signed and delivered as a deed [donor’s signature]
Date signed [date]
Witnessed by [signature of witness]
Full name of witness [name of witness]
Address of witness [address of witness]”

Where to send a deed of revocation

Send the deed of revocation (or partial deed of revocation) to the Office of the Public Guardian with the original LPA document. You must also tell your attorney or attorneys that you’re ending your LPA.

Other ways a lasting power of attorney can end

Your LPA may end if your attorney:

• dies
• loses the ability to make decisions – ‘loses mental capacity’
• divorces you or ends your civil partnership if they’re your husband, wife or partner
• is removed by the Court of Protection

Your property and financial affairs LPA may also end if your attorney becomes bankrupt or subject to a Debt Relief Order (DRO).

It can continue if:

• there are other attorneys who can act ‘jointly and severally’ – but not if they are only allowed to act ‘jointly’
• there are replacement attorneys

Your LPA will end automatically when you die. Your affairs will be looked after by your executors or personal representatives from that point, not your attorney.