Posted on 03/09/2026 by Benn Little
Nobody likes to think about losing control over their own life, which is exactly why most people never get round to arranging a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). Yet that avoidance is precisely the risk an LPA protects against. In a few pages of paperwork, you can decide, while you're still able to, exactly who should make decisions on your behalf if you ever can't, rather than leaving that choice to a court.
An LPA is a legal document that lets you (the "donor") appoint one or more trusted people (your "attorneys") to make decisions on your behalf if you lose the mental capacity to make them yourself or simply find it too difficult.
There are two types:
Property and Financial Affairs: covers decisions about money, bank accounts, bills, property, and investments.
Health and Welfare: covers decisions about medical treatment, daily care, and where you live.
You can set up either or both, and you choose the extent of the powers your attorneys hold.
It's worth understanding that the two types of LPA can be used at different times. A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used as soon as it's registered, with your permission, even while you still have full mental capacity. For example, if you want your attorney to help manage your accounts while you're travelling or simply find it more convenient. A Health and Welfare LPA, by contrast, can only be used once you have lost the mental capacity to make those decisions yourself; your attorney has no authority to make health or care decisions on your behalf while you're still able to make them.
Incapacity can happen to anyone, at any age
Strokes, brain injuries, and serious accidents can affect anyone regardless of age. Mental capacity can be lost suddenly and without warning. An LPA is a safeguard for whenever life takes an unexpected turn.
Without one, your family faces the courts, not a choice
If you lose capacity without an LPA in place, your loved ones cannot simply step in to manage your affairs. Instead, they must apply to the Court of Protection for a "deputyship" order. This process is slower, more expensive, and more stressful than setting up an LPA in advance and the court, not your family, decides who takes on the role.
It keeps decision-making int he hands of the people you trust
An LPA lets you choose your attorneys deliberately: a spouse, an adult child, a sibling, or a close friend, whoever you trust most to act in your best interests. You can appoint more than one attorney and decide whether they must act jointly or can act independently. This level of control simply isn't available if the decision is left to a court.
It protects your wishes, not just your assets
A Health and Welfare LPA is particularly powerful because it allows you to specify your preferences about medical treatment, including life-sustaining treatment, before you're unable to communicate them. Without it, doctors and family members may be left guessing or disagreeing about what you would have wanted.
It prevents family conflict
When there's no clear legal authority in place, disagreements among family members about care decisions or financial management can escalate quickly, especially during already stressful circumstances. An LPA removes ambiguity. Everyone knows who has the legal authority to act, which reduces the potential for disputes.
It's cheaper and simpler than the alternative
Setting up an LPA involves a modest one-off cost and a fairly straightforward application process. A Court of Protection deputyship, by contrast, involves ongoing court supervision, annual reporting requirements, and significantly higher costs over time.
A Lasting Power of Attorney isn't about expecting the worst, it's about making sure that if the worst happens, the people who step in to help you are the people you chose, acting according to wishes you set out yourself. It's a quiet, practical form of care for your future self and for the people who would otherwise be left to pick up the pieces without guidance. Put simply: an LPA turns an uncertain, court-controlled process into a clear, personal plan — and that's a difference worth acting on now, while you still can.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you're considering setting up an LPA, we can help you or you can do this directly with the Office of the Public Guardian.
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