There’s a sentence we hear from families more than almost any other, usually about three months into a difficult stretch: “I wish we’d sorted the power of attorney last year.”
A Lasting Power of Attorney is not a document about giving up control. It’s the opposite: it’s how someone keeps control over who speaks for them, decided calmly and in advance, rather than leaving it to a court during a crisis. If you’re starting to think about care for a parent, this belongs on the same to-do list, and ideally near the top.
A note before we go on: we’re a care provider, not a law firm. This article explains how LPAs work in practice around care. For advice on your family’s situation, speak to a solicitor, or start with GOV.UK’s official guidance.
What an LPA is, in plain terms
A Lasting Power of Attorney lets a person (the “donor”) appoint one or more trusted people (“attorneys”) to make decisions on their behalf if a day comes when they can’t make them themselves. Attorneys are usually adult children, a spouse, or a mix.
There are two types, and they’re separate documents.
Property and financial affairs. Covers money: bank accounts, bills, pensions, benefits, selling property if needed. It can be set up so attorneys act only if capacity is lost, or, if the donor chooses, so they can help sooner with the donor’s consent. Paying care invoices sits here.
Health and welfare. Covers decisions about daily routine, medical treatment, care arrangements and where the person lives. This one can only ever be used once the person can no longer make the specific decision themselves.
Most families do both at the same time. Two crucial rules sit underneath everything:
- An LPA can only be made while the person still has mental capacity. That is the whole reason to act early. Once capacity to make the LPA is gone, the option is gone with it.
- It must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before use. Registration takes weeks, sometimes longer, so the document you “have in a drawer” isn’t usable until that’s done.
The registration fee is currently £82 per LPA in England and Wales, with reductions and exemptions for people on low incomes. You can do the forms yourself online at GOV.UK; families with anything complicated often prefer a solicitor.
Why it matters so much around care
Here’s what the LPA changes in the situations we see weekly.
Without one, the fallback is the Court of Protection. If someone loses capacity with no LPA in place, family members have no automatic right to manage their money or make welfare decisions. Someone must apply to be appointed a deputy. That process typically takes months, costs considerably more than an LPA, and comes with ongoing supervision and reporting duties. All of it lands on the family at exactly the moment they have least energy for it.
With one, the practical wheels keep turning. A financial attorney can set up and pay for care without the person’s accounts freezing into inaccessibility. A welfare attorney can be fully involved in care decisions, review care plans, and speak with providers, the GP and social workers with clear standing.
It also protects the person’s own voice. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 starts from the presumption that people can make their own decisions, and that they keep making every decision they’re able to make. An LPA doesn’t override that. What it does is put someone the person chose, rather than a stranger appointed later, at the table for the decisions they genuinely can’t make. When we plan care, the client leads for as long as the client can. You can see how that works in practice on our care planning page.
For families living with a dementia diagnosis, timing carries extra weight. Capacity doesn’t vanish overnight, and a diagnosis doesn’t mean it’s too late to make an LPA. But earlier is calmer, and the person gets a real say in who they appoint. The Alzheimer’s Society’s guidance on this is excellent, and our dementia support guide for Newark and Sherwood covers the local picture.
How to raise it without it feeling morbid
The conversation lands better when it’s framed as organisation, not decline. Some approaches that work:
- Do it as a family job lot. “We’re all sorting ours” turns it from a statement about Dad’s future into ordinary admin. Plenty of attorneys in their 50s make their own LPAs at the same time.
- Anchor it to something routine. Updating a will, retirement, a house move. LPAs travel well alongside other paperwork.
- Lead with the alternative. Most people have never heard of the Court of Protection. Explaining what happens without an LPA usually settles the question.
If the bigger conversation about accepting help is the sticking point, our guide on talking to a parent who refuses care is the companion piece to this one.
What we ask as a care provider
When care starts, we ask whether an LPA exists, who the attorneys are, and whether it’s registered. Not out of nosiness: it tells us who can sign the care agreement, who should receive updates and invoices, and whose consent we need for what, alongside the client’s own.
If there’s no LPA and the client has capacity, nothing is blocked. The client decides, and family can be involved exactly as much as the client wants. We simply mention, once, that an LPA is worth considering while it’s easy. This article is that mention, written down.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney? A legal document in which a person appoints trusted people to make decisions for them if they become unable to. Two types exist: property and financial affairs, and health and welfare. It must be made while the person has capacity and registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before use.
How much does an LPA cost? Currently £82 per LPA to register in England and Wales, £164 for both types, with reductions for low incomes. The forms are free to complete yourself at GOV.UK. Check the current fee before applying.
What happens without one? Family have no automatic rights. A Court of Protection deputyship application becomes necessary, which typically takes months and costs substantially more, with ongoing fees. Meanwhile professionals make necessary decisions in the person’s best interests under the Mental Capacity Act, consulting family.
Does a health and welfare LPA cover home care decisions? Yes, including care arrangements and where the person lives, but only once the person can’t make those decisions themselves. While they have capacity, their wishes lead.
Getting the rest of the plan in place
An LPA is one piece of being ready. If you’re also weighing up whether it’s time for some support at home, start with our guide to the signs a parent needs help, or come straight to us.
Call 01636 646915, email hello@helpingathome.co.uk, or request a care assessment. No obligation, and no assumptions about what your family needs.
Helping at Home is CQC-rated Good and holds a 9.9 out of 10 rating on homecare.co.uk, based on reviews from families across Newark-on-Trent and the surrounding area.
