Our Guides & FAQs

A lasting power of attorney isn’t something only older people in poor health should consider. You can have an accident or suffer unexpected illness at any age so it is important to set one up whilst you have mental capacity. Appointing attorneys under a lasting power of attorney can protect you and your family financially and reduce conflict by clearly stating who you wish to help you make decisions when you are unable to make those decisions for yourself.

You can make a lasting power of attorney yourself, however it can be quite complicated and the assistance and advice of a solicitor is recommended.

A health and welfare lasting power of attorney allows an attorney to make decisions on your behalf only where you have lost mental capacity. The decisions they are able to make are decisions like:

• your daily routine
• your medical care
• whether you move into a care home
• whether you receive life-sustaining treatment

A property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney allows an attorney to make decisions on your behalf about money and property such as:-

• managing a bank or building society account
• paying bills
• collecting benefits or a pension
• selling your home

You can give your attorneys permission to make decisions on your behalf as soon as it is registered if you wish. Decision making does not have to be conditional upon you losing mental capacity?

Whether you make a lasting power of attorney is your choice. Our solicitors will provide you with independent legal advice to ensure that you make an informed decision. The initial consultation is free of charge.

You can choose one or more people to be your attorney. Your attorney(s) need to be 18 years or over and could be a relative, a friend, a partner at Kew Law, or your spouse.

Yes, you can appoint more than one attorney. If you’re appointing more than one person, you must decide if they’ll make decisions separately or together. You can also nominate replacement attorneys to replace your attorney or attorneys if they cannot act on your behalf anymore.

It can take up to 20 weeks to register a lasting power of attorney provided there are no mistakes with the application. Due to the time that it takes to register many people opt to register as soon as they complete the document rather than leave it for an attorney to register when a need to exercise their power arises.

See our Pricing page for a summary of our fees and other costs.

You can leave specific instructions for your attorneys when you create your lasting power of attorney, but generally an attorney will be able to:-

Property and financial affairs

• use your bank and building society current and saving accounts
• claim and use your benefits, pensions and allowances
• deal with your tax
• pay your household, care and other bills
• make gifts on your behalf (to your friends, family and acquaintances on occasions when it is normal to give gifts)
• make and sell investments for you
• buy or sell your home
• maintain and/or repair your house
• use your money to buy things you need.

Health and welfare decisions

• make decisions about your health and welfare – sometimes including whether you consent to life-sustaining treatment.
• decide where you live and who you live with
• decide upon your daily routine, including diet and dress
• organise community assessments and services
• arrange your personal care
• arrange appointments with doctors, dentists and opticians
• agree to or refuse health care

Yes, you can end your lasting power of attorney yourself if you have mental capacity to make that decision. You will need to enter into a deed of revocation.

Presuming you are the donor, you can certify a copy of your own lasting power of attorney if you are still able to make your own decisions. Alternatively, a lasting power of attorney can also be certified by a solicitor or a person authorized to carry out notarial activities.

No, but if you still have mental capacity then you must tell the Office of the Public Guardian if your attorney change name or address, or an attorney dies.

You (if you still have mental capacity) or one of your surviving attorneys must tell the Office of the Public Guardian if an attorney dies. You must send them the original lasting power of attorney, all certified copies of it, and a return address for the OPG to send your documents back to.

Yes, you can ask the Office of the Public Guardian to remove an attorney if your lasting power of attorney has been registered. You would need to enter into a partial deed of revocation.

An attorney appointed under a lasting power of attorney must:-

• following any instructions or preferences that the person appointing them (the donor) has included in their lasting power of attorney
• help the donor make their own decisions as much as they can
• make decisions in the donor’s best interests
• respect the donor’s human and civil rights

You can stop being an attorney under a lasting power of attorney by disclaiming responsibility.

You can apply to search the Office of the Public Guardian registers.

If you are a donor you can object for any reason. If you are an attorney or a ‘person to notify’ you can object on factual grounds. Anyone (including an attorney or a ‘person to notify’ can object to someone registering a lasting power of attorney on prescribed grounds. The latter involves an application to the Court of Protection and you must pay a £400 court fee.