Nearly 78% of UK adults have no Lasting Power of Attorney in place. If you lose mental capacity without one — through dementia, a stroke, or a serious accident — your family cannot legally manage your finances or make decisions about your care, even if they are your spouse or your closest next of kin. An LPA is not a document for old age. It is a document for right now, while you still have the legal capacity to make it.

What Is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows you — the donor — to appoint one or more people (your attorneys) to make decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to do so yourself. It is created under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used. An LPA is distinct from an ordinary power of attorney, which ceases to be valid if you lose mental capacity. An LPA is specifically designed to remain valid — and in some cases only becomes active — when capacity is lost.

The Two Types of LPA

There are two separate LPAs in England and Wales, and they cover entirely different areas of your life. Most people who set up an LPA choose to create both.

Type	What it covers	When it can be used
Property & Financial Affairs	Bank accounts, investments, property, bills, tax returns, pensions	As soon as it is registered (unless you restrict this), or only when you lose capacity — your choice
Health & Welfare	Medical treatment, care home decisions, day-to-day routine, life-sustaining treatment	Only when you have lost mental capacity — it cannot be used while you still have capacity

The Property & Financial Affairs LPA is often the more immediately practical of the two. It allows your attorney to manage your money and property — paying bills, managing investments, dealing with your bank — either alongside you while you still have capacity, or solely on your behalf once you do not. The Health & Welfare LPA, by contrast, only activates when you have lost capacity. It gives your attorney the authority to make decisions about your medical care, where you live, and your daily routine. Crucially, it can include instructions about life-sustaining treatment — decisions that would otherwise rest entirely with medical professionals.

Why You Cannot Afford to Wait

The most common misconception about LPAs is that they are something to think about later — when you are older, or when health begins to decline. In reality, the opposite is true. An LPA can only be made while you have mental capacity. Once capacity is lost, it is too late. At that point, your family must apply to the Court of Protection to become your deputy — a process that is significantly more expensive, slower, and more stressful than setting up an LPA in advance.

The cost of not having an LPA

A Court of Protection deputyship application costs at least £421 in court fees alone, plus solicitor fees that typically add £1,000–£2,000 or more. The process can take six months to a year. An LPA, by contrast, costs £92 per document to register with the OPG — £184 for both — and can be set up in a matter of weeks.

Who Should Be Your Attorney?

Your attorney must be 18 or over and, for a Property & Financial Affairs LPA, must not be bankrupt or subject to a Debt Relief Order. Beyond those legal requirements, the choice is deeply personal. Most people choose a spouse or partner, an adult child, a sibling, or a close friend — someone they trust completely to act in their best interests, even under difficult circumstances. You can appoint more than one attorney, and you can specify whether they must act jointly (all decisions made together) or jointly and severally (each can act independently). You can also appoint a replacement attorney to step in if your first choice is unable to act. It is worth thinking carefully about the practical implications of your choice. A joint requirement can provide a useful check on decisions but may cause delays in urgent situations. Joint and several gives more flexibility but requires a high level of trust in each attorney individually.

How to Set Up an LPA

Since 2023, the LPA process has been progressively modernised, with a new digital service allowing online applications through the OPG. The basic steps are the same whether you apply online or on paper:

Choose your attorney(s) and discuss the role with them — they need to understand and accept the responsibility.
Choose a certificate provider — an independent person (not a family member or attorney) who confirms you understand the LPA and are not being pressured. This is typically a solicitor, GP, or someone who has known you well for at least two years.
Complete the LPA form — either online via the OPG's digital service or using the paper LP1F (Property & Financial Affairs) or LP1H (Health & Welfare) forms.
Sign the document in the correct order — the certificate provider signs first, then you (the donor), then your attorneys.
Register with the OPG — submit the completed form with the £92 registration fee. Registration currently takes around 20 weeks, though the new digital service aims to reduce this significantly.

You do not need a solicitor to create an LPA, though professional advice is valuable if your circumstances are complex — for example, if you have a business, a blended family, or significant assets. Many people use a solicitor simply for peace of mind that the document has been completed correctly, as errors in the signing process can invalidate the LPA entirely.

Five Myths About LPAs — Debunked

Misconceptions about LPAs are widespread, and they cause many people to delay taking action. Here are the most common myths, and the reality behind them.

The myth	The reality
"My spouse can handle everything automatically."	Not without an LPA. A spouse has no automatic legal authority to manage your bank accounts, sell your property, or make medical decisions on your behalf if you lose capacity.
"I can set one up when I need it."	You cannot. An LPA must be made while you have mental capacity. Once capacity is lost, it is too late — only a Court of Protection deputyship is possible.
"An LPA means I lose control of my finances."	No. You remain in full control while you have capacity. A Property & Financial Affairs LPA can be used alongside you, or restricted to activate only when capacity is lost.
"It's only for the elderly."	Accidents and sudden illness can affect anyone at any age. A stroke, brain injury, or mental health crisis can remove capacity in an instant.
"It's too expensive."	The OPG registration fee is £92 per LPA (£184 for both). If your income is below £12,000, you may qualify for a 50% fee reduction. Compare this to the £421+ Court of Protection application fee — plus months of delays.

The Scale of the Problem

Despite growing awareness, the LPA gap in the UK remains significant. Research by Canada Life found that 78% of UK adults have not registered an LPA — including 77% of the over-55s, the very group most likely to need one. The number of LPAs registered has been rising sharply: more than one million new LPAs were registered in 2023 alone, a 37% increase on 2022, bringing the total on the OPG register to over 9.3 million. Yet with an estimated 47 million adults in the UK, the majority still have no protection in place. Close to one million people in the UK are currently living with dementia, a figure projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040. Dementia is now the UK's leading cause of death. Every one of those individuals will, at some point, lose the capacity to make their own decisions — and for those without an LPA already in place, that moment will be too late.

Recording Your LPA Details

Once your LPA is registered, the document itself is important — but so is making sure your executor and family know it exists, where it is stored, and who your attorneys are. An LPA that no one can find is almost as useless as one that was never made. YourEstateVault's Legal Documents vault gives you a structured place to record your LPA details: the type of LPA, your attorney's name and contact details, where the original document is stored, and any specific instructions or restrictions you have included. When the time comes, your family will not have to search — they will know exactly where to look.

Record your LPA details securely

YourEstateVault's Legal Documents vault lets you record your LPA type, attorneys, storage location, and any restrictions — so your family always knows exactly what is in place. AES-256 encrypted. Free to get started.

Start recording your estate details

What Is a Lasting Power of Attorney and Why Do You Need One?