How to Set Up a Lasting Power of Attorney in the UK. A Plain English Family Guide

One of the most important things any family can do when a parent or loved one begins to need care is to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney. Yet most families leave it too late, or don't know it exists until they desperately need it.

This guide explains exactly what an LPA is, why it matters, and how to set one up in plain English. Whether you've heard it called setting up, arranging, applying for, or simply making a Lasting Power of Attorney. They all mean the same thing, and this guide covers the whole process.

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows someone you trust, called an attorney, to make decisions on your behalf if you lose the ability to make them yourself.

There are two types:

Property and Financial Affairs LPA . Covers decisions about bank accounts, bills, property and investments.

Health and Welfare LPA . Covers decisions about medical treatment, care arrangements and daily routine. This one can only be used when you no longer have mental capacity. It's also what actually gives an attorney legal authority to access care and medical information, being close family or "next of kin" doesn't do this automatically, see our guide on who can actually get information about someone's care →

You can set up one or both. Most families choose both.

Why does it matter so much?

Without an LPA in place, if your parent loses mental capacity, through dementia, a stroke, or serious illness, nobody has the legal authority to manage their finances or make care decisions on their behalf. Not even their spouse. Not even their children.

Instead, you would need to apply to the Court of Protection for a Deputyship Order. A process that can take 6 to 12 months, cost over £1,000 and cause enormous stress at an already difficult time.

An LPA costs £92 to register (this rose from £82 in November 2025) and can be set up in a matter of weeks. The difference in cost, time and stress is significant.

When should you set one up?

As early as possible. The person giving the LPA, called the donor, must have mental capacity at the time of signing. Once dementia or another condition has progressed to the point where capacity is lost, it is too late.

If your parent has recently been diagnosed with dementia or another progressive condition, setting up an LPA should be one of your first priorities.

How do you set one up?

There are two ways:

Through a solicitor . A solicitor will guide you through the process, ensure everything is completed correctly and register it with the Office of the Public Guardian. Costs typically range from £300 to £500 per LPA.

Through the GOV.UK online service . You can complete the LPA forms yourself at gov.uk/power-of-attorney. The registration fee is £92 per LPA (this rose from £82 in November 2025). This route works well for straightforward situations but it is easy to make mistakes, so read the guidance carefully.

Worth knowing before you start: the Office of the Public Guardian's own figures show that around 15% of LPA applications contain errors that cause delays or outright rejection, and over 50,000 applications were rejected in 2023-24 alone. The most common causes are the wrong signing order, missing or incorrect signatures, an invalid certificate provider, and witness errors. If your application is rejected, you lose the £92 fee and have to start again, though a reduced fee applies if you resubmit within 3 months. This isn't to put you off the DIY route, plenty of people complete it correctly, just worth knowing the real numbers before you begin, and being extra careful with the signing order and witnessing.

Worried about getting it right first time? A rejected form means paying the £92 registration fee twice. We put together a step-by-step walkthrough covering the signing order and a pre-submission checklist, available in our Printables Library for a small cost. Get the LPA Form Walkthrough →

What does the process involve?

You will need to choose your attorney or attorneys, choose a certificate provider who confirms the donor understands the document and is not being pressured, sign the document in the correct order, and register with the Office of the Public Guardian. The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is the government body that reviews and approves every LPA before it becomes legally valid, it's who checks your paperwork, and who your form goes back to if something's wrong. Registration currently takes around 20 weeks. Part of that isn't just processing backlog, a 4-week objection period is built in by law and can't be skipped or paid to bypass, specifically to protect the donor from fraud or pressure. The remaining time is genuine OPG processing, which has been running slower than its own target for several years.

Witnesses: the donor's signature must be witnessed by someone who is 18 or over and isn't one of the named attorneys. Each attorney's own signature also needs to be witnessed, though it doesn't have to be the same witness throughout the document. Getting the signing order and witnessing right is one of the single biggest causes of rejection, so it's worth following the official GOV.UK signing order guidance precisely, or having a solicitor handle this part if you're at all unsure.

Choosing an Attorney

Your attorney doesn’t need to be a solicitor. Most people choose a spouse, adult child, or close friend. They must be 18 or over and have mental capacity themselves. Beyond that, the real question isn’t legal, it’s practical: who do you genuinely trust to act in your interests, who’s organised enough to manage paperwork and deadlines, and who’s realistically going to be available when needed. Geographically and in terms of time?

You can appoint more than one attorney, and choose whether they must act jointly (all agree on every decision) or jointly and severally (each can act independently). You can also name replacement attorneys, who step in automatically if your original attorney can no longer act. Without needing to create a new LPA.

It’s also possible to appoint a professional attorney, such as a solicitor, though this typically comes with ongoing fees rather than being a one-off cost.

What an Attorney Actually Has to Do

Being appointed as an attorney isn’t just a title. It comes with real legal duties under the Mental Capacity Act 2005:

Act in the donor’s best interests, not your own convenience. Follow any instructions in the LPA exactly, and consider any preferences. Keep the donor’s money completely separate from your own, if you’re a Property & Financial Affairs attorney. Keep clear records of decisions and spending. You may be asked to account for them. Never benefit yourself from the donor’s money or assets, beyond reasonable gifts the donor themselves would have made. Never delegate your decision-making to someone else.

The Office of the Public Guardian can investigate if there are concerns about how an attorney is acting, and the Court of Protection can remove an attorney who isn’t fulfilling these duties properly. Worth knowing too: these concerns aren’t always genuine, sibling conflict and family tension can sometimes lead to accusations against an attorney who’s done nothing wrong, read what actually happens if this happens to you, and how to protect yourself →

Using your LPA day to day: the online access code

Once an LPA is registered, you don't have to carry the original document around or hand over paper copies every time a bank, hospital or care provider needs to check it. The Office of the Public Guardian runs a free online service called Use a Lasting Power of Attorney (gov.uk/use-lasting-power-of-attorney), which lets an attorney or donor generate a secure access code instead.

Here's how it works: you set up an account, add your LPA using its reference number and activation key (sent on the OPG's registration letter), then generate a 13-character access code. You give that code to the organisation, they enter it on GOV.UK, and they see an instant, live, legally valid summary of the LPA, who the attorneys are and what they're authorised to do. It carries exactly the same legal weight as the physical document.

This is genuinely useful if you're not a spouse or adult child of the donor, some organisations ask more questions or want extra identification from an attorney they don't immediately recognise as "family," and a live, official access code sidesteps that entirely, it doesn't rely on relationship at all, just the code itself. See our guide on caring for a friend or neighbour →

One honest caveat: most banks and building societies now accept access codes readily, but plenty of organisations still ask for the full original or certified document regardless, the NHS and funeral directors among them, we've had the Co-op ask for the entire pack, not just a code or letter. Worth keeping a certified paper copy in reserve even once you're using the online service day to day, and don't assume the code alone will always be enough.

What if my parent already has dementia?

This depends on whether they still have mental capacity. Dementia does not automatically mean someone has lost capacity. It is decision-specific and can fluctuate. A GP or solicitor can help assess capacity.

If capacity has already been lost, you will need to apply for a Court of Protection Deputyship instead. This is more complex and expensive but it is the only legal route available. See our full comparison of Wills, LPAs and Deputyship →

Want to understand what “capacity” actually means, and how it’s assessed? Read our full guide on mental capacity →

Cancelling or Changing an LPA

An LPA can only be cancelled by the donor, and only while they still have mental capacity to make that decision. This is done through a Deed of Revocation . A specific legal wording, signed and witnessed, sent to the Office of the Public Guardian along with the original LPA document.

One thing that surprises people: you can’t simply edit or amend an existing LPA. If circumstances change, a new attorney is needed, or details need updating, the only route is to revoke the existing one entirely and register a brand new one, paying the £92 fee again.

Once someone has lost mental capacity, they can no longer revoke their own LPA, only the Court of Protection can do so at that point, and only in narrow circumstances such as attorney misconduct. This is exactly why reviewing your LPA choices while you’re still able to is worth doing, rather than leaving it fixed indefinitely.

What Happens to the LPA When Someone Dies

This catches a lot of families out, often at the worst possible moment: an LPA ends automatically the second the donor dies. It doesn’t matter how recently it was used, or how straightforward the family’s situation is, the attorney’s legal authority simply stops.

In practice, this means an attorney who’s been paying bills or managing an account for months can suddenly find themselves with no access at all, right when funeral costs need paying. From that point, it’s the executor (named in the will) or administrator (if there’s no will) who has the legal authority to act, not the former attorney, even if they’re the same person.

If there’s no funeral plan in place and the bank account is now inaccessible, most banks will still release funds specifically to pay a funeral director directly, on production of a death certificate and the funeral invoice, without needing to wait for full probate. It’s a genuinely well-used, reliable route, though it isn’t instant. Read our full guide on funeral costs and how payment actually works →

A word from The Care Compass

When my dad was diagnosed with cancer and my mum's dementia was advancing, LPAs were one of the first things we had to navigate, and one of the things I wished someone had explained clearly from the start.

If you are at the beginning of this journey, please do not delay. Setting up an LPA early is one of the most important gifts you can give your family.

If you need help finding a solicitor who specialises in LPAs, the Law Society's official Find a Solicitor tool lets you search for regulated solicitors by area and speciality, free and independent.

This article is for guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a qualified solicitor for advice specific to your situation.

You don’t have to navigate it alone.