Services
Lasting Powers of Attorney
A Will deals with what happens after you die. An LPA deals with what happens while you are still here.
Most people assume that if they lost capacity, their husband, wife or children could simply step in and manage things. They cannot. Without a Lasting Power of Attorney, no one has automatic authority over your finances or your care — not even a spouse of fifty years.
What follows is an application to the Court of Protection for a deputyship: slower, considerably more expensive, supervised annually, and decided by a court rather than by you. Meanwhile bills go unpaid, accounts are frozen, and a house cannot be sold to fund care.
There are two Lasting Powers of Attorney, and most people should have both. We prepare them, act as your certificate provider, and handle registration with the Office of the Public Guardian so the documents are ready to use when they are needed.
What this covers
- Property & Financial Affairs LPA
- Banking, bills, investments, pensions and selling or managing property.
- Health & Welfare LPA
- Medical treatment, care arrangements, and where you live.
- Choosing your attorneys
- How many, whether they act jointly or independently, and who replaces them.
- Guidance and restrictions
- Recording your preferences so your attorneys know what you would have wanted.
- Certificate provider service
- Confirming you understand the document and are acting of your own free will.
- Registration with the OPG
- Managing the process end to end, including the statutory waiting period.
Common questions
LPAs, answered plainly
- I am married. Doesn't my spouse have authority automatically?
- No. This is the single most common misunderstanding we encounter. Marriage gives no automatic right to operate your accounts, deal with your pension, or make decisions about your care if you lose capacity. Only a registered LPA or a Court of Protection order does that.
- Am I giving up control by making one?
- Not while you have capacity. A Property & Financial Affairs LPA can be restricted so it only comes into effect if you lose capacity, and a Health & Welfare LPA can only ever be used at that point. You can revoke either at any time while you have capacity to do so.
- How long does registration take?
- The Office of the Public Guardian typically takes several weeks to several months, and there is a statutory waiting period built into the process. An LPA cannot be used until it is registered, which is precisely why it should not be left until there is a reason to need it.
Related
Often planned alongside
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You don’t need to have all the answers. That’s what we’re here for. Let’s start with a conversation about your family, your assets and what matters most to you.