Lasting power of attorney

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document someone makes while alive, naming people they trust to decide for them about money and property, or about health and care, if they can no longer decide for themselves. It ends when the person dies; after a death, the executor or administrator deals with the estate instead. An LPA covers England and Wales, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.

The two kinds

There is one for property and financial affairs and one for health and welfare, and a person can make both. The person who makes an LPA is called the donor, and the people they name are the attorneys. The donor must be 18 or over and have mental capacity when they make it. Without one, a family that needs to act for someone who has lost capacity has to apply to the Court of Protection, which is slow and costly.

How it is registered

An LPA has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used, and this can be done online. At the time of writing the fee is £92 for each LPA, unless the donor qualifies for a reduction or an exemption. Registration takes between 8 and 10 weeks, so it is worth doing well before it is needed.

What happens after a death

The LPA stops automatically on the day the person dies. From then on the attorneys cannot use it to manage the estate, even where they were looking after the person’s money the day before. The executor named in the will takes over, or an administrator where there is no will, and applies for probate if the estate needs it.