Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) are important documents to have registered. There are two types of LPA, “Property and Financial affairs” and “Health and Welfare”. Each have very different abilities and different purposes and are important to have in place.
Attorney: Attorneys are the people you pick to make decisions for you. They don’t need legal training. They should be people you trust and know well.
Donor: The person who is appointing attorneys i.e. if you are making the form for yourself than it is you
While it may feel unnecessary to put a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place at a young age, life does not always go as planned, and it is important to be prepared. LPAs are not only for those in later life – but they are also recommended for adults of all ages.
A Health and Welfare LPA can only be used if you lose mental capacity. However, a Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used once it has been registered, even while you still have capacity, if you choose to allow this.
This can be particularly useful in practical situations. For example, if you are abroad and unable to access your bank account, your attorneys could make a payment on your behalf. As always, any decisions they make must be in your best interests.
Many people assume that their next of kin will automatically have the authority to make decisions on their behalf. However, this is not the case. Without a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place, your spouse, partner, or children do not have an automatic legal right to make financial or healthcare decisions for you.
Important decisions including those relating to life-sustaining treatment may instead be made by medical professionals or other authorised parties, based on what they consider to be in your best interests. While your family’s views may be taken into account, they do not have the final legal authority unless they have been formally appointed as your attorneys.
You may also have personal preferences or specific wishes that your family are aware of, but without an LPA, there is no guarantee that these will be followed. Putting an LPA in place ensures that the people you trust are legally empowered to make decisions in line with your wishes.
Your attorneys can only make decisions in your best interests. With a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), you can choose for your attorneys to act on your behalf even while you still have mental capacity. However, they must always act under your guidance and in your best interests.
As long as you retain mental capacity, you can revoke your LPA at any time.
It is therefore essential that you appoint attorneys whom you trust completely to act in your best interests.
As with a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, your attorneys under a Health and Welfare LPA can only make decisions in your best interests. You can choose whether you would like your attorneys to have authority to make decisions about life-sustaining treatment, although granting this authority is entirely optional.
A Health and Welfare LPA only comes into effect once you are assessed as having lost mental capacity. In other words, while you still have capacity and are able to make decisions for yourself, you will continue to do so.
Health and Welfare LPAs are commonly used in situations where a person loses capacity due to age-related illnesses, such as dementia.
One of the most common misconceptions is that appointing executors in your Will also gives them power of attorney. However, a Will and a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) are two entirely separate legal documents with very different purposes and powers.
Your Will only takes effect after your death. Executors have no authority over you, your finances, or your healthcare while you are alive, as the wishes set out in a Will do not come into effect until death.
An LPA, on the other hand, appoints trusted individuals to act as your attorneys during your lifetime. These can be the same people you have named as executors (for example, a spouse or next of kin), or they can be different individuals.
A Will comes into effect after you die. An LPA operates during your lifetime either when you lose mental capacity (in the case of a Health and Welfare LPA) or, if you choose, once the Property and Financial Affairs LPA has been registered.
An LPA can only be made while you have mental capacity. If you lose capacity, you can no longer create one.
Much like car insurance, it must be put in place before it is needed. You cannot wait until you have already lost capacity or become seriously ill and expect it to take immediate effect. The document must be made and registered before it can be used.
If no LPA is in place and you lose capacity, your loved ones may need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a deputy. This process can be lengthy, costly, and stressful at what is often already a difficult time.
For situations where there may be a foreseeable risk, such as a serious short-term illness, upcoming major surgery, or working in a high-risk profession, it is particularly important that an LPA is prepared and registered in advance.
Here at Andrew Isaacs Law, we want to help make the process of making an LPA as simple as possible. We therefore charge on a fixed fee basis, so it is clear what our charges will be.
In addition to the above the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) charges £92 each to register an LPA so it can be used (Both Property & Finances and Health & Welfare for one person would be £184.00 in registration fees). Please note that an LPA has to be registered at the OPG to be used. People receiving certain benefits or who have a low income can pay less or no registration fee, and we would discuss this with you.
Contact us to arrange a no obligation appointment.
Because Your Family Matters
Article dated: 02.03.2026
Bethany is our Wills & Probate Paralegal based at our Melton Mowbray Office.
She has an impressive law background after achieving an Honours Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Beginning her career as a Litigation Paralegal in the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia, Bethany has moved to th United Kingdom to become admitted as a Solicitor.
Outside of work, Bethany enjoys walking through the countryside with her dog as well as horse riding.
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