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Do you need to give someone else authority to manage your affairs when you’re not available to do so yourself? If so, our Power of Attorney solicitors can help and provide you with expert legal advice.
There are several different types of Power of Attorney as follows:
Ordinary Power of Attorney (OPA)
An OPA is a legal document authorising one or more people to handle your financial affairs. You may want to set one up if, for example:
- You need someone to act for you for a temporary period, such as whilst you are on holiday
- You wish someone to act for you only whilst you are able to supervise their actions.
An OPA is entered into by creating a legal document appointing one or more attorneys. Attorneys are the people you have chosen to act for you on your behalf.
It is up to you to decide what it covers. It can be a general power, without restrictions, or give limited powers only to do a specific task, for example, to sell a house.
Even if you have entered into an OPA, you can still act for yourself. An OPA is only valid whilst you are capable of giving instructions. If you lost mental capacity, an OPA could no longer be used.
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
If you want someone to be able to continue acting for you even if you lose the capacity to make your own decisions, you should consider entering into a LPA.
A person can only enter into LPAs whilst they are fit and well and they are important for people of all ages to consider. Not everyone will lose mental capacity in their lifetime, however for those who do, a LPA will relieve stress for your loved ones as you would have already made arrangements for your affairs to be handled on your behalf.
A LPA is a legal document you can enter into, appointing one or more people to act as Attorneys to handle your affairs in case you lose mental capacity. You can appoint replacements in case the original Attorneys cannot act, for example, you could appoint your spouse or partner as the first Attorney with an adult child as a replacement Attorney.
Types of Lasting Power of Attorney
There are two types of LPA:
- Property and Affairs – this would cover decisions such as paying bills, selling your property and collecting pensions
- Health and Welfare – this would cover decisions such as where you live, care plans and even medical treatment including end-of-life issues.
It is possible to include preferences and instructions within both types of LPA and our Power of Attorney solicitors can give guidance on this depending on your circumstances.
Sometimes our clients wish to enter into a LPA but they do not have someone they feel they can appoint, for example if their family live far away or they don’t have a close relationship with them. In these circumstances, clients may decide to appoint a professional Attorney such as a solicitor. We are able to offer this service if required and our Power of Attorney solicitors could discuss this further with you at an appointment. We would only be able to act in respect of someone’s financial affairs.
Before a LPA can be used, it must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. This can take months rather than weeks but we can ensure registration goes smoothly for you. Once registered, it can be kept in a safe place until needed and we offer storage free of charge
If you were to lose mental capacity without a LPA in place, your loved ones would likely need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed to look after your affairs. This can be a long and expensive process and the person appointed may not be who you would have chosen yourself.
The important thing is that writing a LPA gives you the chance now to make plans and arrangements for the future in case you lose mental capacity in the future.
Enduring Powers of Attorney
Although you can no longer make an Enduring Power of Attorney, those that were created prior to October 2007 are still valid. When the donor loses mental capacity, the Attorneys are under a duty to register the EPA. Our team can assist an Attorney with the registration process.
How Our Power of Attorney Team Can Help
Our Power of Attorney team have many years of experience in dealing with these matters and can guide you through the choices involved in entering into a Power of Attorney that is right for you and your family members or loved ones.
If you would like to discuss Powers of Attorney further or wish to arrange an appointment, please contact us on 0191 232 9547. We offer fixed fees for LPAs but if you would like a quote for an OPA or to register an EPA please contact us for a quote.
Lasting Power of Attorney pricing
*Every LPA attracts a registration fee of £82 per LPA payable to the Office of the Public Guardian
| Individual Person | Price | Savings (inc. VAT) |
| 1 LPA | £400 plus VAT = £480 | n/a |
| 2 LPAs | £750 plus VAT = £900 | Includes saving of £60 |
| Couples | Price | Savings (inc. VAT) |
| 1 LPA each | £750 plus VAT = £900 | Includes savings of £60 |
| 2 LPAs each | £1200 plus VAT.= £1440 | Includes savings of £480 |
It is often the case that clients will consider reviewing their Will at the same time as entering into LPAs and we offer packages when clients proceed with Wills and LPAs at the same time. Please see our fixed fee packages below. If you are looking for our Wills pricing without LPAs, this can be found here.
Simple Wills/LPA packages
*Every LPA attracts a registration fee of £82 per LPA payable to the Office of the Public Guardian.
| Individual Person Packages | Price | Savings |
| Simple Will & 1 LPA | £725 inc VAT* | Includes saving of £50 inc VAT |
| Simple Will & 2 LPAs | £1,100 inc VAT* | Includes savings of £155 inc VAT |
| Couples Packages | Price | Savings |
| Simple Mirror Wills & 1 LPA each | £1,150 inc VAT* | Includes savings of £205 inc VAT |
| Simple Mirror Wills & 2 LPAs each | £1,850 inc VAT * | Includes savings of £465 inc VAT |
Complex Wills/ LPA packages
*Every LPA attracts a registration fee of £82 per LPA payable to the Office of the Public Guardian.
| Individual Person Packages | Price | Savings |
| Complex Will & 1 LPA | £775 plus VAT = £930 | Includes saving of £60 |
| Complex Will & 2 LPAs | £1,100 plus VAT = £1320 | Includes savings of £150 |
| Couples Packages | Price | Savings |
| Complex Mirror Wills & 1 LPA each | £1,225 plus VAT = £1470 | Includes savings of £210 |
| Complex Mirror Wills & 2 LPAs each | £1,775 plus VAT = £2130 | Includes savings of £510 |
If you are looking for further help with life planning, our team can help:
For more information and expert legal advice, please contact our power of attorney solicitors on 0191 232 9547 and ask to speak to a member of our private client team for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to appoint someone (known as an Attorney) to manage your affairs if you lose mental capacity. Lasting Powers of Attorney are only effective during your lifetime and come to an end on your death.
Creating a LPA can give you some reassurance that there is someone you trust appointed to look after your affairs and make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so during your lifetime. You can also include ‘preferences and instructions’ within your LPA which outline what you would ‘prefer’ your attorneys to do or what they ‘must’ do. This can help assist your attorney to adhere to your wishes.
What requirements must be met to make a Lasting Power of Attorney?
To make LPA’s, you must:
- Have mental capacity
- Be over the age of 18
When can a Lasting Power of Attorney be used?
For a Property and Finance LPA, you have the ability to choose when your LPA can be used by your attorneys. The options are as follows:
- When the LPA is registered by the Office of the Public Guardian or;
- Only when you have lost mental capacity.
If you choose for your attorney to only be able to make decisions regarding your finances if you lose mental capacity, this means a capacity assessment must be done by a medical professional every time your attorneys want to use your LPA. This is much more restrictive.
For a Health and Welfare LPA, your attorneys can only ever act if you lose capacity, meaning if you have the mental capacity to make decisions about your health and welfare, you will make your own decisions.
Who can act as an attorney?
Anyone over the age of 18 with the relevant mental capacity can act as an attorney. For property and financial affairs, the attorney must not be declared bankrupt. It is typical to appoint family members or friends but sometimes people may choose to appoint professionals such as a solicitor to act as their Property and Finance attorney.
You can choose to appoint more than one attorney or you can choose to appoint one attorney as an original attorney and replacement(s) if your original attorney was unable to act for any reason i.e. if they became unwell themselves or if they predeceased.
How are LPA’s different from Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA’s)?
Please see the below major differences between EPA’s and LPA’s:
- EPA’s only cover decisions relating to your financial affairs whereas you can also choose to make a LPA to specifically cover decisions regarding your Health & Welfare.
- Although EPA’s are still a legally valid document, some banks are reluctant to accept them.
- LPA’s should be registered immediately by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) once the documentation has been completed, unlike EPA’s which can only be registered if you have lost capacity. With LPA’s you can authorise your attorneys to act with immediate effect, even though you still have mental capacity (Property and Finances LPA only).
You can of course replace your EPA with an LPA at any time provided you have mental capacity, or it is also possible to retain your EPA but make an LPA for health and welfare.
What are the legal responsibilities of an attorney?
When your attorneys make a decision on your behalf they must always act in your best interests. If you have chosen in your property and financial affairs LPA for your attorneys to be able to act immediately after the LPA is registered, your attorneys must always act with your consent whilst you still have capacity to make decisions.
A member of our private client team will of course go through this with you in more detail in your appointment.
Do couples/spouses/civil partners need LPAs?
It is a common misconception that couples do not need a lasting power of attorney to manage their partners affairs if they were to lose mental capacity and people often presume that they will automatically be able to make important decisions concerning their partners finances and health care.
The best way to make sure that your partner is able make such important decisions on your behalf is to name them as an attorney on your LPA.
Can I revoke a LPA?
There are a number of other ways a Lasting Power of Attorney can come to an end as listed below:
- You can revoke your own Lasting Power of Attorney by preparing a Deed of Revocation. You must have the mental capacity to make such a decision. The Deed of Revocation would need to be sent to the Office of The Public Guardian (OPG) with your original LPA document.
- If your attorney loses the ability to make decisions for you.
- If you appoint your spouse as your attorney and you then divorce.
If your attorney is declared bankrupt (for a property and financial affairs LPA only) or is removed by the Court of Protection.
