Lasting Power of Attorney

As you grow older, you might worry about what will happen to your personal and financial affairs if you’re unable to look after them yourself. At PM Law, we’ll discuss the options with you, including lasting power of attorney, so you can put your mind at ease.

Put your affairs in safe hands

It might be hard to imagine a time in the future when you’re unable to make a decision about your finances or healthcare. However, the time will come and it’s best to have something in place for when it does.

Lasting power of attorney can prove to be invaluable should you be unable to properly handle your personal affairs. Let us help give you peace of mind by setting up lasting power of attorney today.

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What is lasting power of attorney?

Lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets someone (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (the ‘attorneys’) to help them make decisions on their behalf. LPA is often used when the donor is ill or no longer has the mental capacity or capability to make key decisions themselves.

You must be over the age of 18 and have the full ability to make your own decisions when you make your LPA. It’s also important to note that there are two types of LPA:

  • health and welfare
  • property and financial affairs

These two types of LPA relate to what kinds of decisions you’re able to make for the donor. You can choose to have an LPA for one of these, or both.

How to give lasting power of attorney

You can make an LPA yourself using forms online. Signatures by the attorneys and witnesses are required in order to make the LPA official and all witnesses must be aged 18 or over. However, because of the gravity of an LPA, we always advise seeking legal advice to ensure the document will do what you want it to.

An LPA is a powerful legal document that gives attorneys permissions over the donor’s life. Therefore, we’d always recommend using a solicitor to give yourself, the attorney(s) and the donor total reassurance. We have the legal expertise required to give you honest legal counsel – our goal is to guide you through this process so you have complete confidence and peace of mind.

How can we help with your lasting power of attorney?

The PM Law team can help you at any point of the LPA process. Should you need reassurance or guidance at a certain stage, we’re more than happy to give you advice. We can even help you draw up an LPA document from scratch that ensures all your wishes are met. We can assist by:

  • Helping you choose an appropriate attorney
  • Explaining the different types of powers that are given to attorneys
  • Drafting LPA documents that include bespoke clauses as per your requirements
  • Helping the donor and attorney(s) to complete their paperwork

More information on wills, trusts and probate

We have plenty more information on wills, trusts and probate if you’ve not been able to find what you’re looking for on this page. Try taking a look at the pages below:

Contentious Probate

Making a Will

Probate & Estate Administration

Setting up a Trust

Lasting Power of Attorney FAQs

Didn’t find the answers you were looking for? Look at the FAQs below for more information on our lasting power of attorney services.

Here’s a summary of our LPA pricing:

Single Person

  • Single = £400 + VAT & Registration Fee
  • Single & health and welfare = £600 + VAT & Registration Fee

Joint

  • Joint = £600 + VAT & Registration Fee
  • Joint & health and welfare = £1,000 + VAT & Registration Fee

(There’s also a Court Registration fee of £82 per LPA.)

A court of protection can be granted to a representative if an individual becomes incapable of managing their own affairs due to illness and/or lack of capacity, and they do not have an appointed attorney under LPA. This is often an option if an individual has a rapid decline in their health and is suddenly unable to manage their own affairs.

In these circumstances, we can assist with your application to the court of protection and help ensure it is promptly processed to enable you to take over the management of the individual’s affairs with the minimum of delay.

Speak to one of the friendly members of our team who will give you the guidance you need to make an application to the Court of Protection.

A living will, also known as an advance directive, is a written document setting out the circumstances under which you would not want to receive life-prolonging medical treatment if you become seriously ill and were incapable of making your own health care decisions. 

Forward planning like this can help to ensure that, should you become seriously ill in the future, you can still have control over the medical assistance you receive. Save your family from making difficult decisions and contact PM Law to discuss a Living Will. 

For Property and Financial Affairs, an LPA in England prevents freezing of bank accounts and the need for a lengthy court process.

In Health and Welfare, it ensures your attorneys make decisions about your healthcare if you lose mental capacity.

A Will addresses matters after your passing, while an LPA in the English legal system appoints individuals to assist you while you are alive.

Once registered in England, the LPA cannot be amended, but you can create a new one and revoke the previous.

It currently takes around 20 weeks to register a Lasting Power of Attorney in England.