Lasting Powers of Attorney Advice

Creating a Lasting Power of Attorney

Nobody expects to have a stroke or end up in hospital after a serious accident. But it happens to thousands of people across the UK every year, often without warning.

Without a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place, your family can’t help you. They can’t access your bank accounts to pay the bills or make decisions about your medical treatment and ongoing care. And your loved ones may spend months battling through the Court of Protection just to be able to help you.

At Vincents Solicitors, our team handles LPAs for families. We’ll explain what you need, help you make the right choices about who to appoint, and make sure everything’s registered properly with the Office of the Public Guardian.

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, a Lasting Power of Attorney in England and Wales gives someone you choose the legal authority to make decisions for you when you can’t do it yourself. Your attorney steps in to handle your affairs, whether that’s temporarily after an accident or permanently due to dementia. An LPA covers both situations.
There are two types of LPA, each covering different areas of your life:

• Property and Financial Affairs LPA. This LPA covers your money and property Your attorney can manage bank accounts, pay bills, sell property, claim benefits, and handle your investments. You can choose whether this LPA becomes active as soon as it’s registered or only when you lose the ability to make decisions for yourself.
• Health and Welfare LPA. A Health and Welfare LPA only becomes active once you’ve lost capacity or if you give your attorney permission to act on your behalf . It covers decisions about your daily routine, medical treatment, and where you live. This is particularly important if you are in any care environment as they will want guidance regarding your treatment. You can give your attorney authority to make decisions about life-sustaining treatment, but you don’t have to.

Who can make a Lasting Power of Attorney in England and Wales?

You must be 18 or over and have mental capacity when you create the LPA. Timing is critical because once you have the onset of symptoms you may no longer be able to provide instructions and it may be too late to obtain an LPA. When you have lost capacity without an LPA in place, the Court of Protection would need to appoint a deputy instead, which takes much longer and costs considerably more.

You don’t need to be a UK citizen or live in the UK to make an LPA. But the LPA is only valid in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different systems.

Choosing Your Attorneys

Choosing an attorney is the most important decision you’ll make. They need to have your complete trust because an attorney will have significant power over your life when you become incapacitated. They should be reliable, capable of handling responsibility, and know you well enough to understand what you’d want. Here at Vincents we can help you with arriving at that decision because of the wealth of experience we have.

You can appoint one attorney or several. But if you appoint more than one, you’ll need to decide whether they’ll act:

• Jointly: The attorneys must agree on every decision and sign documents together. This provides checks and balances, but can be impractical. And if one attorney dies or can no longer act, the LPA ends.
• Jointly and severally: This means each attorney can make decisions independently. This is more flexible for everyday decisions but also means less oversight.
• Jointly for some decisions, jointly and severally for others: While this arrangement is possible, it can end up being too complicated and confusing in practice.

Family members typically don’t charge for acting as your attorney, but they can claim reasonable expenses. Professional attorneys charge for their time, and these fees will come from your assets.

You can name replacement attorneys who step in if your first choice can’t act. This prevents the LPA from ending if something happens to your original attorney.

You can remove an attorney but you cannot add one on so the appointment of your attorneys is an extremely important decision

Why You Need an LPA

Talking about the prospect of failing health, dementia or the unknown doesn’t feel comfortable. And many people assume they’ll get round to sorting out an LPA “later,” and keep delaying. The trouble is, some illnesses like strokes or accidents don’t give advance notice. And LPAs aren’t just for the elderly. Anyone over 18 should consider one, because life can be unpredictable.

Without an LPA, nobody automatically has the right to manage your affairs. Even your spouse may not be able to access your bank account to pay bills or the mortgage. Your children can’t sell your house to fund your care home fees. And your partner can’t ensure that doctors respect your wishes regarding medical treatment.

What If You Have no LPA?

If you don’t have an LPA in place and something unforeseen happens that causes you to lose mental capacity, someone would need to apply to the Court of Protection to become your deputy. This process can take as long as 6-12 months and cost as much as several thousand pounds in legal and court fees.

And the court might not even appoint the person you would have chosen had you still been able. An LPA avoids all of this. It costs a fraction of a deputyship application and gives you control over who makes decisions for you.

How much does a Lasting Power of Attorney cost?

The Office of the Public Guardian currently charges £92 to register each LPA. This is the court fee for processing your application. If your estate is worth £5,000 or less, there’s no fee. You might also qualify for a fee reduction or exemption if you’re on certain means-tested benefits like Universal Credit, Income Support, or Pension Credit

Our solicitor’s fees depend on the complexity of your situation. We offer fixed fees for LPAs, and we’ll always provide you with a clear quote before you instruct us.

The LPA Application Process and How Vincents Can Help

Creating and registering an LPA in England and Wales involves several steps. We can handle all of this for you, including document preparation, signing, and submitting everything to the Office of the Public Guardian. Here’s how we can help with the LPA process:

• Choosing who to appoint. We can help you decide who should be your attorney and whether you want any limits on what they can do.
• Filling in the forms. The LPA forms have to be completed in a very specific way, and we’ll prepare these for you, ensuring everything is correct.
• Getting someone to check you understand. An independent person (the “certificate provider”) needs to confirm you know what you’re signing and that nobody is forcing you to do it.
• Signing everything in the right order. You sign first, then the person who checked, then your attorneys (if anyone signs in the wrong order, the application gets rejected).
• Telling your family if you want to. You can notify relatives before we submit the application. This gives your loved ones a chance to raise concerns.
• Sending the LPA to be registered. We submit everything to the Office of the Public Guardian (registration takes approximately 8-10 weeks).
• We can be your certificate provider

We believe that clear advice always feels better. Our solicitors can walk you through these steps and explain the requirements in plain language. We can also provide certified copies of the original papers and store the originals free of charge with your will.

Your Attorney’s Responsibilities

Attorneys must follow the principles of the Mental Capacity Act in England and Wales. They should assume you have capacity unless it’s determined that you don’t. They should also help you make decisions yourself wherever possible, and always act in your best interests.

Attorneys must keep your money separate from their own. They must not benefit from your assets unless the LPA specifically allows it by including a clause allowing gifts or payments, or they are a professional attorney with agreed-upon fees.

If someone suspects your attorney is acting improperly, they can report concerns to the Office of the Public Guardian. The OPG investigates and can remove attorneys who abuse their position.

Can you change or cancel an LPA?

Yes. You can cancel (revoke) your LPA at any time, provided you can still make decisions for yourself. To revoke an LPA, you’ll need to sign a deed of revocation and notify the Office of the Public Guardian and your attorneys. And if you want to change who’s appointed or what powers they have, you’ll also need to revoke an LPA and create a new one.

Importantly, once you’ve lost capacity, you can no longer cancel or change the LPA. At that point, only the Court of Protectioncan remove an attorney. Usually, this happens when they’re not acting in your best interests.

FAQs

What’s the difference between an LPA and an Enduring Power of Attorney?

LPAs replaced Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) in 2007. If you made an EPA before that date, it’s still valid. But EPAs only cover property and finances, not health and welfare decisions. Think about adding a Health and Welfare LPA to fill the gap.

An EPA can only be registered when you need it so if there is a mistake on the documentation you may have already lost capacity and be unable to rectify it .

What happens if my attorney misuses the LPA?

If someone suspects your attorney isn’t acting in your best interests, whether it’s stealing money or ignoring your wishes, they can report it to the Office of the Public Guardian. The OPG investigates all complaints and can remove attorneys who misuse their position. You can also revoke the LPA yourself at any time while you still have capacity.

Can I appoint different attorneys for property and health decisions?

Yes. You don’t need to appoint the same person for both types of LPA. Your financial attorney should be someone who’s good with money and paperwork. And your health and welfare attorney should know your preferences regarding medical treatment and future care.

Are there any downsides to having a Lasting Power of Attorney?

The main concern is oversight. Unlike Court of Protection deputies, LPA attorneys aren’t supervised annually by the Office of the Public Guardian. This makes the process faster and cheaper, but your attorney has considerable power with limited checks. That’s why choosing someone you trust completely is essential.

What happens if someone close to me has already lost capacity without making an LPA?

If a loved one has already lost capacity, you’ll need to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order. This gives you similar powers to an attorney but requires court approval first. Deputyship orders are more complicated and expensive than LPAs, which is why we always recommend advance planning.

Vincents Helps You Get Started with Your LPA

Peace of mind is priceless, and the earlier you create an LPA, the better. It’s about protecting the people you love and making sure your wishes are respected if something unforeseen happens in the future.

At Vincents Solicitors, we’ve helped countless families with their Lasting Powers of Attorney, wills, and probate matters (https://www.vincentssolicitors.co.uk/wills-trusts-and-probate/probate-advice/). We’ll help you understand which type of LPA you need, guide you through choosing the right attorneys, and make sure everything’s completed correctly. You’ll get clear and upfront pricing without any surprises or hidden costs.

Speak to our team today about creating a Lasting Power of Attorney.