Use a lasting power of attorney

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1. Overview

You can make decisions on someone’s behalf if they appoint you using a lasting power of attorney (LPA). You should support them to make their own decisions when possible.

The person who appoints you is called the ‘donor’. You’re their ‘attorney’.

You do not need any legal experience to act as someone’s attorney.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

Before you start acting as an attorney

Prepare by talking to the donor so you’re ready to make decisions in their best interests. For example, ask about their plans for their money or how they want to be cared for if they become seriously ill.

Make sure the LPA has been registered - you cannot start acting until it is. It can take up to 16 weeks to register a lasting power of attorney. A registered LPA will be stamped with ‘validated-OPG’.

Check the types of decisions you can make and when you can start acting as a:

• property and financial affairs attorney
• health and welfare attorney

After you start acting as an attorney

You must:

• follow any preferences and instructions (known as ‘restrictions and conditions’) the donor included in the LPA
• act in the donor’s best interests and help them make their own decisions where possible
• keep the donor’s money and property separate from your own (unless you already share a bank account)
• respect the donor’s confidentiality
• let the donor and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) know if you no longer wish to act as an attorney
• give OPG information about how the LPA is being used, if asked
• keep records of your actions

You must not:

• use your position to benefit yourself
• let other people use the LPA to make decisions
• use the LPA unless it is registered

Find out how to make decisions for someone else including how to get help making difficult decisions. Your decisions can be checked.

If you’re not the only attorney

The LPA will tell you whether you can make decisions on your own or together with other attorneys.

Make decisions jointly and severally

This means you can make decisions on your own or with other attorneys. You can share tasks. If one of the attorneys is unable to act, then decisions can still be made without them.

Make decisions jointly

This means all attorneys have to agree on the decision. If one of the attorneys can no longer act, none of the other attorneys can act either unless the donor states otherwise in their restrictions and conditions (sometimes known as ‘preferences and instructions’).

Make decisions both jointly and jointly and severally

This means the attorneys must agree on certain decisions together but can make others on their own. If one of the attorneys can no longer act, the other attorneys will not be able to make the joint decisions without them unless the donor states otherwise in their restrictions and conditions (sometimes known as ‘preferences and instructions’).

For example, the donor could state that the attorneys must all agree if they want to sell the donor’s home, but they can make other decisions separately.

Find out what to do if you make decisions jointly with someone who stops acting as an attorney.

2. Property and financial affairs attorneys

As a property and financial affairs attorney, you make (or help the donor make) decisions about things like:

• money, tax and bills
• bank and building society accounts
• property and investments
• pensions and benefits

You can start making decisions while the donor still has mental capacity if both:

• the lasting power of attorney (LPA) says you can
• the donor gives you permission

Otherwise, you can only start making decisions when they do not have mental capacity.

You can use the donor’s money to look after their home and buy anything they need day to day (for example, food).

Discuss decisions that affect the donor’s living arrangements, medical care or daily routine with their health and welfare attorney, if they have one.

Example

If you decide to sell the donor’s home, discuss where the donor will live with their health and welfare attorney.

Looking after money and property

You must keep the donor’s finances separate from your own, unless you’ve already got something in both of your names like a joint bank account or you own a home together.

Managing the donor’s money and accounts

Banks and other organisations (such as utility companies and pension providers) will ask for proof that you are an attorney. Use your lasting power of attorney to prove you can act for the donor.

You may need to prove other details, such as:

• your name, address and date of birth
• the donor’s name or address

You might also need to provide other information, such as an account number.

Spending money on gifts or donations

Unless the LPA states otherwise, you can spend money on:

• gifts to a donor’s friend, family member or acquaintance on occasions when you would normally give gifts (such as birthdays or anniversaries)
• donations to a charity that the donor would not object to, for example a charity they’ve donated to before

You must apply to the Court of Protection for any other type of gift or donation, even if the donor has given them before. These include:

• paying someone’s school or university fees
• letting someone live in the donor’s property without paying market rent (anything they pay below market rent counts as a gift)
• interest-free loans

You must check that the donor can afford the gift or donation, even if they’ve spent money on these types of things before. For example, you cannot donate their money if that would mean they could not afford their care costs.

Read the guidance for more information on giving gifts or donations.

Buying and selling property

You’ll need to get legal advice if:

• the sale is below the market value
• you want to buy the property yourself
• you’re giving it to someone else

Making a will

You can apply for a statutory will if the donor needs to make a will but cannot do it themselves.

You cannot change a donor’s will.

You can be ordered to repay the donor’s money if you misuse it or make decisions to benefit yourself.

3. Health and welfare attorneys

As a health and welfare attorney, you make (or help the donor make) decisions about things like:

• daily routine, for example washing, dressing and eating
• medical care
• where the donor lives

You can only make decisions when the donor does not have mental capacity to make them.

You must tell people involved in the donor’s care when you start making decisions. This includes the donor’s:

• friends and family
• doctor and other healthcare staff
• care workers, social worker and other social care staff

You may need to use your lasting power of attorney (LPA) to prove to staff that you can act for the donor.

Using the donor’s money

You might need to spend the donor’s money on things that maintain or improve their quality of life. This can include:

• new clothes or hairdressing
• decorating their home or room in a care home
• paying for extra support so the donor can go out more, for example to visit friends or relatives or to go on holiday

You must ask for money from the person in charge of the donor’s funds.

Refusing or consenting to treatment

Check the LPA for instructions about refusing or consenting to treatment.

You’ll need to:

• show the LPA to care staff
• sign medical consent forms
• make decisions in the donor’s best interests

You cannot always make decisions about the donor’s medical treatment, for example if the donor’s made a living will or has been sectioned.

Living wills (‘advance decisions’)

This is a legal statement from the donor about which medical treatments they do not want. You’ll need to give this to care staff along with the LPA.

NHS Choices has information about advance decisions.

Apply for a one-off decision

You may need to apply for a one-off decision from the Court of Protection to make a decision about a medical treatment if:

• the living will and LPA give different instructions
• the medical staff or the donor’s friends and family disagree about whether the treatment should be given

4. Start using a lasting power of attorney

You must register the lasting power of attorney (LPA) before you can start acting as an attorney.

If you’re an attorney or the donor on an LPA, you can use this service to:

• view a one page summary of an LPA
• let companies or organisations view a one page summary of an LPA
• keep track of who has been given access to an LPA
• see how people named on an LPA are using the service
• ask for an activation key if you have not been given one
• replace your activation key if yours is lost or expired

You can only use this service for an LPA registered in England and Wales, on or after 1 January 2016.

Before you start

You’ll need to create an account the first time you use this service.

Then you’ll need to add an LPA to your account. You’ll need both:

• the LPA reference number
• your activation key

If the LPA was registered on or after 17 July 2020, your activation key is in the letter you got telling you the LPA had been registered.

If the LPA was registered on or after 1 January 2016, you can use this service to ask for a new or replacement activation key. You’ll need the LPA reference number.

Sign in to your online account

If the LPA was registered before 1 January 2016

You cannot use the online service for an LPA registered before 1 January 2016. You’ll need to show the paper LPA to people or organisations instead.

5. Prove you're an attorney on a lasting power of attorney

Any company or organisation you deal with on behalf of the donor can ask you to prove you’re the attorney on a lasting power of attorney (LPA). You can:

• let them view an online summary of the LPA
• show them the original registered LPA
• show them a certified copy of the LPA

They may also ask you to prove other details, such as:

• your name, address and date of birth
• the donor’s name or address
• information the organisation uses, such as an account number

Check what proof they need, and how you should share this with them, before sending any documents.

Share an online summary of the LPA

If your LPA was registered on or after 1 January 2016, you can let companies and organisations view an online summary of the latest version of the LPA. 

You’ll need to sign in to your online account to generate an access code for each LPA.

Companies and organisations can use the access code to view a summary of your LPA which includes:

• if it’s still valid and registered
• the donor’s name, address and date of birth
• the attorneys’ names, addresses and dates of birth
• how decisions are made by the attorneys
• the donor’s restrictions and conditions (sometimes known as ‘preferences and instructions’)

An access code is valid for 30 days from the day you create it. The code has 13 characters and starts with V.

If you give an organisation the wrong access code, they may not be able to verify decisions you can make as an attorney.

Using a paper version of the LPA

To prove you’re an attorney on the LPA, you can show a company or organisation the registered paper version or a certified copy of the LPA.

6. Attorney records and duties

Keep a record of:

• important decisions you make and when you make them, for example selling the donor’s home or agreeing to medical treatment
• the donor’s assets, income and how you spend their money - if you’re their finance and property affairs attorney

Include details of who you asked for advice and any disagreements.

Do not include small, everyday decisions.

Expenses

You can only claim expenses for things you must do to carry out your role as an attorney, for example:

• hiring a professional to do things like fill in the donor’s tax return
• travel costs
• stationery
• postage
• phone calls

You can be ordered to repay the donor’s money if you misuse it or make decisions to benefit yourself.

Keep your receipts and invoice the donor for your expenses. The money is paid by whoever’s in charge of the donor’s funds.

Checks and visits

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and Court of Protection can check your decisions. They may:

• arrange a visit with you and the donor together, or the donor alone

• contact other people such as the donor’s family, bank or care workers

They can investigate and stop you acting as an attorney if, for example:

• you’ve done something the lasting power of attorney (LPA) says you cannot  

• you’ve not done something the LPA has instructed you to do

• you’ve not been acting in the donor’s best interests

• you misuse the donor’s money or make decisions to benefit yourself

• you do something that goes against their human or civil rights

• the donor is not being treated well  

• the donor made the LPA under pressure or they were tricked into it

7. Changes you need to report

You must tell the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) if:

• you or the donor change name or address
• the donor, or another attorney, dies
• you start acting as a replacement attorney
• you choose to stop acting as an attorney

The donor can also report changes to a lasting power of attorney (LPA) if they have mental capacity to make decisions.

If you or the donor change name or address

You must tell OPG if you or the donor changes name and send a copy of the marriage certificate or deed poll that shows the new name. Do not send any original documents.

You must tell OPG if you or the donor changes address, but you do not need to send any supporting documents.

Do not make changes to the LPA document itself, as it might become invalid.

If the donor or another attorney dies

You must tell OPG and send them the original LPA and all certified copies.

If the donor or attorney died outside of the United Kingdom, you must also send a copy of the death certificate.

What happens to the existing LPA

OPG will cancel the LPA if the donor dies, or if an attorney dies and either:

• the attorneys had to make all decisions together - this is called acting ‘jointly’
• there was only one attorney

A cancelled LPA will be destroyed. If you want OPG to send it back instead, include a note asking for its return along with a return address.

If an attorney dies and the attorneys were able to make any decisions on their own (called acting ‘jointly and severally’), OPG will update the LPA instead. You must include a return address when you send the LPA.

If you start acting as a replacement attorney

You must let OPG know when you start acting as a replacement attorney. You’ll also need to send them:

• the original LPA
• all certified copies of the LPA
• a return address for OPG to send your documents back to you

You’ll be able to start helping a donor make decisions as soon as the attorney you’re replacing stops acting.

Check the LPA to see if there are other attorneys you need to make decisions with after you start acting as an attorney.

Contact OPG

Office of the Public Guardian
customerservices@publicguardian.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 456 0300
Textphone: 0115 934 2778
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9am to 5pm
Wednesday, 10am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

Office of the Public Guardian
PO Box 16185
Birmingham
B2 2WH

If you email or write to OPG you should include:

• your full name, address and date of birth
• whether you are the attorney or the donor
• the donor’s full name address and date of birth (if you are the attorney)
• the reference number on your LPA

8. When a lasting power of attorney ends

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) can end in several ways. Usually it ends because the donor has died. You must report the death of a donor to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

There are also ways that an LPA can end while the donor is alive.

Stopping before the donor dies

You can choose to stop acting as an attorney - sometimes called ‘disclaiming an attorneyship’.

There are also some cases in which the law requires you to stop acting as an attorney.

Any replacement attorneys listed in the LPA will take over if you stop.

If there are no replacements, there may be other ways to help the donor make decisions.

If you choose to stop being an attorney

Fill in and send a notification form to:

• the donor - if the LPA has not been registered 

• the donor and OPG (at the address on the form) - if the LPA is registered   

• any other attorneys appointed on the LPA  

When you must stop acting as an attorney

You must stop acting as an attorney if: 

• the donor takes you off their LPA  - sometimes called ‘revoking an attorney’

• you lose mental capacity and cannot make decisions any more

• you’re a property and financial affairs attorney and you become bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order 

• you’re married to or in a civil partnership with the donor and you get a divorce or an annulment (unless the LPA says you can keep acting as an attorney)   

• you’re a joint attorney and another attorney stops acting, unless the LPA says you can carry on making decisions  

When the donor ends the LPA

The donor can end the LPA if they have mental capacity to make that decision.

They need to send the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) both:

• the original LPA
• a written statement called a ‘deed of revocation’

Deed of revocation

Use the following wording for the deed of revocation. Replace the words in the square brackets with the relevant details.

“This deed of revocation is made by [donor’s name] of [donor’s address].

1: I granted a lasting power of attorney for property and financial affairs/health and welfare (delete as appropriate) on [date donor signed the lasting power of attorney] appointing [name of first attorney] of [address of first attorney] and [name of second attorney] of [address of second attorney] to act as my attorney(s).

2: I revoke the lasting power of attorney and the authority granted by it.

Signed and delivered as a deed [donor’s signature]

Date signed [date]

Witnessed by [signature of witness]

Full name of witness [name of witness]

Address of witness [address of witness]”