A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you choose someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make them yourself. It covers situations like serious illness, a brain injury, or dementia — anything that might leave you without the mental capacity to manage your own affairs.
It is one of the most important pieces of planning you can do, and one of the most commonly put off. Many people assume their spouse or adult children would be able to step in and handle things. In practice, without an LPA, no one — not even your closest family — has the automatic legal right to manage your bank accounts, pay your bills, or make decisions about your medical care.
This guide covers how LPAs work in England and Wales, the two types available, what it costs to set one up, and what happens if you don’t have one. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems, covered briefly at the end.
The two types of LPA
There are two separate types of lasting power of attorney. You can make one or both, and most people who set up an LPA choose to do both.
| Property and financial affairs LPA | Health and welfare LPA | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Bank accounts, savings, investments, paying bills, collecting benefits or pension, selling or renting out property, managing tax affairs | Day-to-day care, medical treatment decisions, moving into a care home, life-sustaining treatment |
| When it can be used | As soon as it is registered — but only with your permission while you still have capacity. Can also be restricted so it only takes effect on loss of capacity. | Only when you lack the mental capacity to make the decision in question. Cannot be used while you can still decide for yourself. |
| Common example | Your attorney pays your care home fees from your savings while you have dementia | Your attorney agrees to a treatment plan with your doctors when you cannot communicate your wishes |
Each type is a separate document and is registered separately. The registration fee applies to each one individually — so if you set up both, you pay twice.
An important detail about the property and financial affairs LPA: you can choose to let your attorney use it straight away, even while you still have capacity. This can be useful if you want someone to help manage your finances day-to-day — for instance, if mobility problems make it difficult to get to the bank. You remain in control and can override any decision your attorney makes, as long as you have capacity.
The health and welfare LPA works differently. It can only be used when you lack the mental capacity to make a specific decision yourself. Your attorney cannot override your wishes while you are still able to express them.
Who can set up an LPA
To make an LPA, you (the “donor”) must be:
- Aged 18 or over
- Have mental capacity at the time you create the LPA — you must be able to understand the decisions you are making
This is why it matters to do it sooner rather than later. If you wait until you have already lost capacity — for example, after a dementia diagnosis has progressed — it will be too late. The document requires you to understand what you are signing.
Your attorney (the person you appoint to make decisions) must also be 18 or over, have mental capacity, and be willing to act. You can appoint more than one attorney and specify whether they must act together (“jointly”), independently (“jointly and severally”), or jointly for some decisions and independently for others.
One restriction: if someone is bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order, they cannot act as a property and financial affairs attorney — but they can still act as a health and welfare attorney (gov.uk — Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney).
How to set up an LPA
The process has four stages:
1. Fill in the LPA form
You can do this online using the gov.uk LPA tool, or by downloading and completing paper forms. The online tool is faster and reduces the chance of errors that delay registration.
You will need to decide:
- Which type of LPA you want (or both)
- Who your attorney or attorneys will be
- Whether attorneys should act jointly or jointly and severally
- Any specific instructions or preferences — for example, “my attorney must consult my sister before selling my house”
- Who your certificate provider will be (see below)
2. Get it signed and witnessed
The LPA must be signed by you, your attorneys, and a certificate provider. The certificate provider is someone who confirms that you understand the LPA and are not being pressured into making it. This can be someone who has known you well for at least two years, or a professional such as a solicitor, doctor, or social worker.
Each signature must also be witnessed by an independent person aged 18 or over. The witness cannot be an attorney named in the LPA.
3. Register with the Office of the Public Guardian
Once signed, the LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used. An unregistered LPA has no legal force.
The registration fee is £92 per LPA (as of March 2026, source: gov.uk — Registering your LPA). If you register both types, the total cost is £184.
4. Wait for registration
Registration currently takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes in the application. Online applications are usually processed faster than paper ones (gov.uk — Registering your LPA).
There is no way to speed up the process, which is another reason to set up your LPA well in advance of needing it.
Fee reductions and exemptions
You do not always have to pay the full £92. The OPG offers reductions and exemptions based on your financial circumstances:
- 50% reduction — if your annual income before tax is below £12,000, you can apply to have the fee reduced to £46 per LPA
- Full exemption — if you receive certain means-tested benefits such as Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit), or Universal Credit (and meet the income threshold), you may not have to pay a fee at all
You apply for the reduction or exemption at the same time as registering your LPA. The application form is available on gov.uk. You will need to provide evidence of your income or benefit entitlement.
When an LPA can be used
A registered property and financial affairs LPA can be used in two ways, depending on what you chose when you set it up:
- Immediately from registration — your attorney can act on your behalf straight away, but only with your consent while you still have capacity. This is the default option.
- Only on loss of capacity — if you included a restriction saying the LPA should only be used when you lack capacity, your attorney cannot use it until a medical professional confirms you are unable to make the relevant decisions.
A health and welfare LPA can only be used when you lack the mental capacity to make a particular decision. Even if it is registered, your attorney cannot use it while you are still able to decide for yourself. Each decision is assessed individually — you might lack capacity for some decisions but retain it for others.
In both cases, your attorney has a legal duty to act in your best interests and to follow the principles set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
A health and welfare LPA works alongside — but is separate from — an advance decision to refuse treatment. An advance decision lets you refuse specific treatments in advance (such as CPR or a ventilator). An LPA appoints someone to make decisions on your behalf more broadly. Many people choose to have both.
What happens if you don’t have an LPA
If you lose mental capacity without an LPA in place, your family cannot simply step in and take over. Banks will freeze your accounts. Care providers will need someone with legal authority to agree to treatment plans or placements. No one — not your spouse, not your children — has an automatic right to make decisions for you.
The only option at that point is for someone to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your deputy. This is a much longer, more expensive, and more intrusive process than setting up an LPA.
How deputyship compares to an LPA
- Application fee: £421 to apply to the Court of Protection. If you need both a property and welfare deputy, you pay the fee twice (gov.uk — Apply to the Court of Protection).
- Hearing fee: if the court schedules a hearing, there is an additional fee of £259.
- Security bond: property and affairs deputies may need to take out a security bond, the cost of which depends on the value of the estate.
- Ongoing supervision: deputies are supervised by the OPG and pay annual fees — £320 per year for general supervision, or £35 for estates under £21,000.
- Reporting: deputies must submit annual reports to the OPG on how they have managed the person’s affairs.
- Less flexibility: a deputy’s powers are defined by the court order and may be more limited than those available under an LPA.
By comparison, an LPA costs £92 to register, involves no ongoing fees, and gives you the freedom to choose exactly who acts for you and how. The contrast is stark — and it is the single strongest argument for setting up an LPA while you still can.
LPA vs EPA (enduring power of attorney)
Before 1 October 2007, the equivalent of an LPA for financial matters was called an enduring power of attorney (EPA). EPAs covered property and financial affairs only — there was no equivalent for health and welfare decisions.
You cannot make a new EPA. They were replaced by LPAs when the Mental Capacity Act 2005 came into force. However, if you made a valid EPA before 1 October 2007, it remains legally valid and can still be registered and used. It must be registered with the OPG when the donor begins to lose mental capacity.
If you hold an old EPA but want health and welfare coverage too, you would need to set up a separate health and welfare LPA.
Does an LPA cover Scotland?
No. LPAs are a legal instrument for England and Wales only.
In Scotland, the equivalent documents are a continuing power of attorney (for financial and property matters) and a welfare power of attorney (for health and personal welfare). Both are governed by the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 and are registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland), which is a separate body from the OPG in England and Wales.
If you live in Northern Ireland, different arrangements also apply. You should contact the Office of Care and Protection for guidance.
Common questions
Can I set up an LPA myself?
Yes. You do not need a solicitor to make an LPA. The gov.uk online tool guides you through the process step by step, and many people complete it without professional help.
That said, a solicitor can be worthwhile if your situation is complex — for example, if you have a blended family, business interests, or assets in more than one country. Some solicitors offer a fixed-fee LPA service, typically charging between £150 and £500 per LPA on top of the registration fee. You can search for a solicitor through the Law Society’s Find a Solicitor service.
It is worth knowing that you will still need a certificate provider — someone who confirms you understand the LPA and are not under pressure. This is a safeguard built into the process and is required whether you use a solicitor or not.
How much does it cost to set up an LPA?
The registration fee is £92 per LPA (as of March 2026). If you make both types, the total registration cost is £184. Fee reductions are available for people on low incomes — see fee reductions and exemptions above.
If you use a solicitor, their fees are on top of the registration cost. Expect to pay roughly £150 to £500 per LPA for professional drafting, depending on the firm and the complexity of your instructions.
If you prepare the LPA yourself using the gov.uk tool, the only cost is the £92 registration fee.
Planning your LPA alongside a will
Setting up an LPA is often done at the same time as making a will. The two documents serve different purposes — a will covers what happens after your death, while an LPA covers what happens if you lose capacity during your lifetime — but they are both part of getting your affairs in order.
Many solicitors offer a combined package for drafting both documents, which can reduce the overall cost. Whether you use a solicitor or do it yourself, it is worth thinking about both at the same time, while the relevant decisions are fresh in your mind.
For more on planning ahead, see our planning ahead hub. If you are also thinking about what treatments you would or would not want in a medical emergency, our guide to advance decisions explains the legal requirements and how to make one. For funeral arrangements, our guide to pre-paid funeral plans explains how they work, what is covered, and how to compare FCA-authorised providers. If you have not yet registered an organ donation decision, our guide to organ donation in the UK explains how the opt-out system works and why telling your family matters.
Sources
- Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney — gov.uk
- Registering your lasting power of attorney — gov.uk
- Office of the Public Guardian — gov.uk
- Apply to the Court of Protection to become a deputy — gov.uk
- Mental Capacity Act 2005 — legislation.gov.uk
- Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 — legislation.gov.uk