Instructions
01We discuss attorneys, replacements, restrictions and guidance.
Lasting powers of attorney
An LPA can only be made while you still have capacity. Once capacity is lost the only route is a Court of Protection deputyship — slower, costlier and supervised annually.
Types
Property & financial affairs; health & welfare
Registration
OPG fee £82 per LPA
OPG timescale
Commonly 8–20 weeks
Certificate provider
We can act as certificate provider
01Powers of attorney
The two types
A property and financial affairs LPA lets your attorneys deal with bank accounts, bills, benefits, investments and the sale of property. It can be used with your consent while you still have capacity, which is useful during illness or time abroad.
A health and welfare LPA covers medical treatment, care arrangements and where you live. It can only be used once you lack capacity, and it can — if you choose — give your attorneys authority over life-sustaining treatment.
02Powers of attorney
Choosing attorneys
Attorneys must be over eighteen and, for a financial LPA, not bankrupt. You can appoint them jointly, meaning every decision needs all of them, or jointly and severally, meaning any of them can act alone. Joint appointment sounds safer but is brittle: if one attorney dies or loses capacity, the whole appointment fails unless replacements are named.
We advise on the appointment structure, on naming replacement attorneys, and on drafting any restrictions or guidance so that your instructions are workable rather than a reason for a bank to refuse the document.
03Powers of attorney
Certification and registration
An LPA needs a certificate provider to confirm you understand it and are not under pressure. We can act in that role. It must then be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used — registration currently takes several months, which is why leaving it until it is needed is the most common and most expensive mistake.
STEPSHow the matter runs
Every powers of attorney file follows the same sequence.
Drafting
02Both LPA types prepared, or one if you prefer, with plain-English notes.
Signing in order
03Donor, certificate provider and attorneys sign in the correct legal sequence.
Registration
04Applications submitted to the Office of the Public Guardian and progress monitored.
Return and storage
05Registered originals returned to you, with certified copies if required.
Questions we are asked most
Most people benefit from both. Financial matters are the ones that cause immediate difficulty — a frozen account, an unpaid mortgage — but welfare decisions are the ones families most often find themselves excluded from.
Property law, handled properly.
Need help with powers of attorney?
Send us the basic details and we will come back with a written quotation, the likely timescale and the name of the solicitor who will handle it.