Why make an LPA? 

When you make a Will, you know your affairs will be dealt with after you die. But, if something happens to you before then or if you suddenly become unable to make decisions for yourself, a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) will protect you and make everything much simpler for your family and loved ones.

Five main reasons to make an LPA:

1. You stay in control of what happens to you. 

You can decide who you want to act as your attorney in the event you’re no longer able to make decisions for yourself. If you lose mental capacity without having an LPA in place, the Court of Protection could award decision-making responsibilities to anyone — including a relative or associate who either doesn’t know you well, whom you don’t believe has your best interests at heart, or simply someone you wouldn’t choose for yourself.

2. Your attorney can help you at any time, even if you don’t lose mental capacity.

If you make an LPA for property and financial affairs and register it with the Office of the Public Guardian, your attorney can help you if you ask them to. They cannot act without your permission — but if things become overwhelming, you can ask for help from someone you trust, and who has authority to act for you. Your attorney would only be able to make decisions for you if you lose the ability to make decisions for yourself.

3. LPAs come with built-in safeguards to protect you. 

When you appoint an attorney, they cannot just do whatever they want with your property and finances. They must act in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. If anyone is concerned about their conduct, they can report your attorney to the Office of the Public Guardian, who will investigate. If necessary, they’ll remove your attorney from power.

4. You can appoint multiple attorneys. 

You can give decision-making powers to several different people if you want, who can make decisions together or separately. This protects you should one of your attorneys die — and also gives you extra peace of mind that they’ll be acting in your best interests. If you only want one attorney to have responsibility but you’d like to have someone in reserve in case something happens to your original attorney, you can nominate a successor to take over if it becomes appropriate for them to do so.

5. You’ll have peace of mind that your family and loved ones will be able to help you when you need help. 

Without an LPA, your family — even your spouse — cannot make medical decisions on your behalf. Nor can they make financial decisions unless they’re named on accounts. 

If you do become mentally incapacitated without an LPA, your family and loved ones will have to apply for a deputyship — which can become very expensive. There is no blanket deputyship to cover everything, so someone would need to apply separately each time a decision had to be made — which costs from £850 per application to the Court of Protection. Fees go up if there are complications like objections from other family members. There are also court fees of £400. Getting a deputyship can also take up to six months, which can cause huge problems if decisions need to be made urgently. With a registered LPA, your attorney can make decisions for you straight away.

Think of an LPA as an insurance policy. You hope you’ll never have to use it, but if you do, it could make all the difference to your life, and the lives of your loved ones.

LPAs are not as difficult or expensive to make as you might think— and they could save you and your loved ones a lot of money, time, and stress. 

Find out how to draw up an LPA