A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you, while you still have mental capacity, appoint one or more people you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you later lose that capacity, whether through dementia, a stroke, a serious accident or illness. It is one of the most useful and least expensive pieces of planning most adults can do, yet many people only hear of it once a crisis has already made it too late.

LPAs are governed by the Mental Capacity Act 2008. This guide explains what an LPA covers, the difference between the standard and customised forms, how to choose the right people, how to make one, when it takes effect, and the safeguards that guard against abuse. It also explains how an LPA differs from deputyship and from a will.

What an LPA Is and Who Can Make One

An LPA is made by a donor (the person granting the power) who appoints one or more donees to act for them. To make a valid LPA you must be at least 21 years old and have the mental capacity to understand what you are signing at the time you sign it. That last point is critical: an LPA can only be made before capacity is lost. Once a person can no longer understand the decision, it is too late to make an LPA, and the family is left with the slower court route of deputyship instead.

The completed LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), which sits under the Ministry of Social and Family Development, before it can be used. Registration creates an official record and is part of what makes the document legally effective.

The Two Powers: Personal Welfare and Property & Affairs

An LPA can grant your donees authority over two distinct areas, and you can choose to grant one or both:

  • Personal welfare. Decisions about your care and daily life: where you live, your day-to-day care arrangements, and consenting to or refusing certain healthcare and treatment. These powers only ever come into play once you have lost capacity.
  • Property and affairs. Decisions about your money and assets: operating your bank accounts, paying your bills and expenses, and dealing with your property. This is often the more practically important power, because it keeps your finances running when you cannot manage them yourself.

You can give a single donee both powers, or split them, for example one person for welfare and another for finances. You can also set limits and conditions, restricting what a donee may do or requiring donees to consult each other.

Form 1 vs Form 2: Which One You Need

There are two versions of the LPA form:

  • LPA Form 1 is the standard form. It covers the general grant of powers that suits most people, with a set of standard options you select from. Because it does not need bespoke drafting, it is the simpler and cheaper route, and the one the great majority of donors use.
  • LPA Form 2 is the customised form. It is used when you want to confer specific or tailored powers, or attach detailed restrictions that the standard form does not accommodate. Because Form 2 involves bespoke wording, it must be drafted by a lawyer, and costs more than Form 1.

For most people with straightforward wishes, Form 1 is sufficient. Consider Form 2 if your affairs are complex: for instance, a business to run, unusual conditions on how donees must act, or specific instructions that do not fit the standard template.

Choosing Your Donees

Your donee will potentially be handling your money and your care at your most vulnerable, so trust is everything. A donee must be at least 21 and, for the property and affairs power, must not be an undischarged bankrupt. Choose someone reliable, financially responsible, and likely to be around and willing to act when needed.

You can appoint more than one donee, and specify whether they must act jointly (all decisions together) or jointly and severally (any one can act alone). You can also name a replacement donee to step in if your first choice dies or becomes unable to act. Naming a replacement is a sensible safeguard against your LPA becoming useless at the moment you need it.

One point that is easy to overlook: review your LPA after a divorce. Many married people name their spouse as donee. After a divorce that appointment does not automatically fall away, so an ex-spouse you named years ago could still be the person legally empowered to manage your money and welfare. If you have separated or divorced, revisit your LPA and, if needed, revoke it and make a fresh one naming someone you now trust. The same review is worth doing whenever you sort out your affairs during a divorce, alongside updating your will.

How to Make an LPA

Making an LPA follows a set path:

  1. Complete the form (Form 1 or, with a lawyer, Form 2), choosing your donees and the powers you are granting. The OPG operates an online system for preparing and submitting LPA applications.
  2. Have the LPA certified. A certificate issuer must confirm that you understand the LPA and are not being pressured into it, and that there is no fraud. Certificate issuers are drawn from specific professionals: accredited medical practitioners, practising lawyers, and psychiatrists.
  3. Register the LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian. The LPA must be registered before it can be relied on.

There are professional fees for the certificate issuer, and a registration process with the OPG; the exact costs depend on the issuer you use and whether you need Form 2, so confirm fees in advance rather than assuming a fixed figure. Full details and the current forms are published by the OPG on the MSF website.

When an LPA Takes Effect

An LPA does not give your donee any power while you still have capacity. It only comes into effect once you lose mental capacity to make the relevant decision yourself. Until that point you remain fully in charge of your own affairs, and you can revoke the LPA at any time while you still have capacity. Because it lies dormant until it is needed, an LPA is best thought of as insurance: you hope never to use it, but you are very glad it exists if the day comes.

Safeguards Against Abuse

Handing someone control of your money and care carries obvious risk, so the framework builds in protections. The certificate issuer acts as an independent check at the point of signing, confirming you understand the document and are acting freely. A donee is legally required to act in your best interests, not their own, and to follow the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. The Office of the Public Guardian oversees donees and can investigate concerns, and the court can revoke an LPA or remove a donee who acts improperly. Naming more than one donee, or requiring joint decisions on major matters, adds a further layer of oversight.

LPA vs Deputyship vs Will

These three tools are often confused, but they do different jobs:

  • LPA vs deputyship. An LPA is made in advance, while you still have capacity, and lets you choose who acts for you. Deputyship is the fallback when someone has already lost capacity without an LPA in place: the family must apply to court to be appointed, which is slower, costlier and gives you no say in who is chosen. In short, an LPA is the planned version; deputyship is the emergency version.
  • LPA vs will. An LPA operates during your lifetime, if you lose capacity, and ceases to have effect on death. A will does the opposite: it has no effect while you are alive and only takes over after you die, directing who inherits your estate. They cover different stages of life, and most people who plan properly have both.

Putting an LPA in place is one of the simplest ways to protect yourself and spare your family a stressful court application later. If you are already sorting out your affairs, for example during a divorce or after making a will, it is a natural time to do it.