Making your Lasting Power of Attorney

Making a Lasting Power of Attorney shouldn’t involve chasing different people, piecing together conflicting guidance, or hoping you’ve ticked the right boxes. With Linley James Solicitors, you only need one firm to get it done properly, end-to-end.

We don’t just fill in forms. We take you from “I should do this” to LPAs completed, registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, and ready to use—with an attorney briefing sheet so your choices actually work in real life, not just on paper.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) lets you appoint someone you trust to make decisions for you in the future. That may be because you’re unavailable (for example, abroad or unwell), or because you’re no longer able to understand or decide for yourself. For most people, an LPA is one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect their independence and keep decision-making in the hands of people they choose.

LPAs can look easy. They are not. They are legal documents, governed by the Mental Capacity Act, and mistakes can cause delays, rejection by the OPG, or serious practical problems later—especially when attorneys need to act quickly. That is why we approach LPAs as a planning exercise, not paperwork.

Your matter is overseen by Craig Ward, solicitor and author of the Law Society’s textbook on Lasting Powers of Attorney (4th edition).

This is one of the leading practitioner texts on powers of attorney for Lexis Nexis (6th edition). In short: you will have specialist, current, practical expertise guiding the structure, wording, and registration of your LPAs.

He is currently writing a text book on Wills and how to create them.

Lasting Powers of Attorney — the types

There are two main types of LPA:

Property and Financial Affairs LPA

This allows your attorneys to manage your property and finances—for example, dealing with bank accounts, paying bills, managing investments, and handling property-related decisions. It is similar in concept to the older Enduring Power of Attorney, but the modern LPA framework is different and must be set up correctly.

Health and Welfare LPA

This allows your attorneys to make health, welfare, treatment and care decisions. This can include decisions about medical treatment, operations, care at home, and whether you should move into a care home. It can also cover decisions where your life may be at risk, depending on the authority you choose to give.

A Health and Welfare LPA can also be crucial where there is disagreement with a hospital or local authority—for example, if they are seeking to restrict your liberty to provide care or treatment and you are not able to understand or decide for yourself. In those circumstances, your attorneys can object and advocate on your behalf.

Although these are separate documents, we would usually advise clients to make both together so your affairs are protected across both decision-making domains, with consistent planning.

Business LPAs

Businesses and business owners may also be advised to put in place a Business LPA, to protect continuity and decision-making if a key person cannot act.

Capacity and safeguards

To make an LPA, you must have sufficient mental capacity at the time you sign it. Where there are any concerns, it may be in your best interests for your GP to be involved as the certificate provider. The certificate provider is a safeguard required by law (often a solicitor, GP, or someone who knows you well) confirming that there are no concerns about you making the LPA and that you understand what you are doing.

Why choose Linley James Solicitors

When you make your LPA with us, we do more than draft documents. As part of the process we will:

  • Review your financial situation and advise on key points to consider
  • Advise on long-term care planning (so the LPA supports real-life decisions)
  • Review your will (if you have one) to ensure your planning works together

All of this is included as part of the LPA service, because it is how you get a result that is genuinely protective—not just “completed forms”.

Registration of a Lasting Power of Attorney

After you and your attorneys have signed the LPA, you can register it straight away or wait. Registration is with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

Importantly: an LPA cannot be used until it has been registered.

  • Once registered, a Property and Financial Affairs LPA can usually be used straight away (unless you specify restrictions).
  • A Health and Welfare LPA can only be used once you are no longer able to decide for yourself.

Registration involves:

  • Completing and submitting the registration application
  • Sending the LPAs to the OPG
  • Notifying any person named to be notified that the LPA is being registered
  • Managing any issues or queries raised during the process

If someone notified has concerns, they can raise them with the OPG. Registration usually takes a minimum of six weeks, and sometimes up to 10 weeks. Once registered, the OPG validates the document (you will see the OPG validation markings).

How your attorneys must act

Attorneys can only make decisions you are unable to make yourself. That means they must understand your level of capacity and how you would normally make decisions.

Attorneys must act in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act:

  • They must act in your best interests
  • They must help you make decisions yourself where possible
  • They must follow the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice, particularly Chapter 7

If you appoint more than one attorney, they can be appointed:

  • Jointly (they must always act together and agree), or
  • Jointly and severally (they can act independently, usually having agreed between themselves how to operate)

If there are concerns about an attorney’s conduct, this can be reported to the OPG, which can investigate and, where appropriate, take steps to protect the donor.

There are limits on what attorneys can do. For example, they cannot make certain serious decisions outside the LPA framework (including making a will for you). If you lose capacity without a will, it may be necessary to consider a statutory will through the Court of Protection.

Attorneys are also restricted on gifting: they may only make gifts in limited circumstances (such as customary occasions like birthdays or Christmas) and the size of the gift must be proportionate to your overall assets.

Clauses and practical protections

Most LPAs contain no clauses or only the essentials. We include appropriate practical clauses within our LPA package where needed—such as provisions dealing with access to the donor’s will, sensible delegations, and safeguards around oversight—so your attorneys can operate effectively while remaining compliant.

The choice (and why it matters)

There is no requirement to make an LPA. But there is a real consequence to not having one: if you lose capacity and no LPA is in place, decisions can be taken by people you did not choose—often through a court-appointed Deputy—with delay, cost, and stress for your family.

An LPA keeps the choice with you: who acts, what they can do, what they must consider, and how your autonomy is respected.

Contact us now

If you want your LPAs sorted, registered, and ready, speak to Linley James Solicitors.

Call 0207 060 1210 to book an LPA appointment.