Lasting Powers of Attorney

Any adult can be appointed as an attorney, provided they have mental capacity and are not bankrupt. We usually recommend appointing at least two attorneys. You can also name replacement attorneys in case your chosen attorneys are unable to act, and you can specify who should be notified when the LPA is registered. You can also set out how and when the attorneys’ appointment takes effect.

The powers you give your attorneys can be wide-ranging. Depending on whether you make a Property and Financial Affairs LPA or a Health and Welfare LPA, you can include provisions that allow your attorneys to access and manage your bank accounts, or to make decisions about your day-to-day care and routine. These powers can be tailored – restricted or extended – to reflect your circumstances and personal wishes.

Appointment of your Attorneys does not commence until the LPA is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and this has to be done when the LPA is created.  You can register the LPA yourself while you are able to make decisions for yourself or it can be registered by your Attorneys. When your LPA is submitted for registration, the Office of the Public Guardian will notify anyone you have said that you wish to be informed of the registration together with the Attorneys. If any of these people have concerns about the LPA, for example they feel you were put under the pressure to make it, they can object to the LPA being registered. This is an additional safeguard against potential misuse. The completed registration application is then submitted with the appropriate fee. The OPG checks the LPA and sets a registration date (currently around 6 weeks from the date the OPG gives notice to anyone who did not join in the application to register). If there any objections, it may take longer to register your LPA whilst these are dealt with.

When an LPA is registered, an important safeguard is that you can name people to be notified. They can raise an objection to the registration. In any event, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) will review the LPA and the application to ensure it has been completed correctly.

Once the LPA is registered, your attorney has a duty to keep proper records and, if requested, provide accounts and details of how they are managing your affairs to the OPG. If an attorney acts improperly, their appointment can be brought to an end.

Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to know in advance whether you will ever need an LPA. Loss of mental capacity can be difficult to predict, and if someone becomes unable to make decisions it may be too late to put an LPA in place. In those circumstances, the alternative is often a Deputyship application, which is usually more time-consuming and more expensive. A Lasting Power of Attorney can therefore be seen as a form of protection against the more costly alternative.

Making an LPA can feel quite involved, but we aim to make the process as straightforward as possible. The benefit of clearly setting out how your property, financial and healthcare decisions should be managed if you are unable to make those decisions yourself can be invaluable.