Frequently Asked Questions
What is aPower of Attorney (LPA)?
There are two types of LPA: one for making financial decisions and another for making health and care decisions. You can set up LPAs for both types of decisions.
An LPA for health and care decisions can only be used if you lose mental capacity. An LPA for financial decisions can also be used, with your permission, while you still have mental capacity – but you need to choose this option when setting it up.
You can only create an LPA if you have mental capacity to do so and you haven’t been put under any pressure to set it up.
An LPA isn’t necessarily permanent. You can cancel it at any time while you have mental capacity by sending the original LPA document and a 'deed of revocation' to the Office of the Public Guardian
How long does it take to
recieve my LPA?
Generally, the documents can be prepared for registration in a week or so, depending on how quickly all parties can review and sign them. Following that the Office of the Public Guardian is currently taking around 16 weeks to complete their process.
How many Attorneys can I have?
You can appoint as many Attorneys as you like. It can be a good idea to appoint more than one Attorney, but if you do, you must decide how they're going to make decisions. They can make decisions:
- Jointly, meaning they must make all decisions together
- Jointly and Severally, meaning they may act together or separately, as they choose.
Or you may want to specify that attorneys must act jointly for specific decisions, such as selling a house, but they can act jointly and severally for all other decisions.
You can also appoint replacement Attorneys, in case someone you've chosen becomes unable to act on your behalf, for example if they die or lose mental capacity.
Who can act as an Attourney?
You could choose someone you're close to, such as a family member or friend. Or you could choose a professional, such as a solicitor. It's important to be sure that whoever you choose will make decisions in your best interests – for more information on your 'best interests', see the FAQ section at the bottom of the page.
It’s also important that you give the person you ask to be your attorney time to think about the role and responsibilities, to make sure they feel comfortable doing it.
Whoever you choose, your attorney needs to be 18 or over, and they can't be a professional care worker apart from in exceptional circumstances (for example, if they're your only relative). There are other restrictions on who you can choose to be your attorney. For example, an attorney for financial decisions cannot be bankrupt