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Lasting Power of Attorney Form

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf.

Complete the simple step by step form to get your LPA started

LPA

Make a Lasting Power of Attorney

This online service will help you create a lasting power of attorney (LPA) for England and Wales.

You will be guided through a step by step process answering questions along the way. We will use your answers to create an LPA ready for you to sign and send to the Office of the Public Guardian for registration.

Get your free LPA guide which will provide all the information you’ll need to make an LPA.

Who is the Donor for this LPA?

As you are appointing other people to make decisions on your behalf, you are described as the Donor. You must be 18 years old or over and have the necessary mental capacity to be able to make this decision.

 
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What type of LPA do you want to make?

Who are the Attorneys?

These are the people you are asking to make decisions for you. Your Attorneys do not need special legal knowledge or training. These must be people you trust to make decisions for you when you are unable to make them for yourself. For example your spouse, partner, child or trusted friend. You will need at least one Attorney but we recommend that you have at least two. Each Attorney must be 18 years old or over and have the necessary mental capacity to act as an Attorney.

 
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Does the donor want any replacement attorneys?

Replacement attorneys step in if an original attorney can no longer act.

 
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Decision Making - How are your attorneys going to make decisions on your behalf? 

If you are appointing one attorney they will be responsible for making decisions.

This means (if you are appointing more than one Attorney) your Attorneys can make decisions either independently or together. Most people select this option as it is the most useful one from a practical point of view. Attorneys can get together to make important decisions if they wish but this also allows one of your Attorneys to make urgent or simple decisions alone (for example, if one of your attorneys is out of the country and a decision needs to be made the other attorney can make this decision, or if a simple errand needs to be run and one of your Attorneys lives in another part of the country). It also means that if one of the attorneys dies or can no longer act your LPA will still be able to be used by the remaining Attorney(s).

This means that your Attorneys must agree unanimously on every decision, however big or small. This may delay simple decisions. If a unanimous decision cannot be reached by the Attorneys then they will need to make an expensive and time-consuming application to the Court of Protection for a decision
to be made for them.
Note: With this option if one of your attorneys dies or is unable to act then the remaining Attorneys cannot continue to act either. This is because the law says that a group appointed jointly is a single entity. Your LPA would therefore not be able to be used any further unless you have appointed a replacement Attorney.

You can stipulate that your Attorneys must all agree for certain decisions but can act independently for others. If you select this option you must list the decisions where the attorneys must act together. The wording you use is very important. Please use the continuation sheet to set out your wishes in this regard and we will draft your LPA accordingly.
Note: If one of your Attorneys can no longer act in relation to a decision where you have specified that your Attorneys must act jointly,  your LPA will not be able to be used in relation to that issue, unless you have appointed a replacement attorney

Decision Making - When would you like your attorneys to make decisions for you?

This means that while you have mental capacity your attorney(s) can still make decisions on your behalf. However, they can only do so with your consent. This option is helpful if for example you still have your mental capacity but you are physically unable to get to the bank to withdraw money for your weekly shop. It would allow your Attorney(s) to withdraw money from your account and complete the shop for you.

This means that your Attorney(s) cannot use the LPA until you have lost your mental capacity. Your attorney(s) may be asked to prove that you do not have mental capacity each time they try to use the LPA and so this restrictive step could make the process of using the LPA difficult for your Attorney(s), for example in relation to the example given above of physical impairment rather than the loss of mental capacity.
Note: You can register your Health & Welfare LPA straight away but the attorney(s) will only be able to act on your behalf once you have lost the mental capacity to make those decisions.

Who do you want to make decisions about life-sustaining treatment?

It is important to decide whether you wish your Attorneys to have power to give or refuse consent to life-sustaining treatment on your behalf. This is treatment required to keep you alive, for example: - A critical operation, such as heart or transplant surgery - Cancer treatment - Artificial nutrition or hydration (water/food given other than orally) - Continuing or ceasing life-support - Do Not Resuscitate orders/directions

This means that your attorneys can speak to the doctors on your behalf as if they were you.

If you choose this option doctors will take account of the views of your Attorneys and people who are interested in your welfare as well as any written statement you have made, where it is practical and appropriate to do so, but your Attorney(s) will not stand in your shoes or have the final say on these decisions.

Who is the certificate provider?

This is a person you need to nominate to confirm that they’ve discussed the LPA with you, that you understand what is involved in making an LPA and that nobody is forcing you to complete an LPA against your wishes. The ‘certificate provider’ should be either:
a) someone you have known personally for at least 2 years, such as a friend, neighbor, colleague or former colleague.
b) someone with relevant professional skills, such as your GP, a healthcare professional or a solicitor.

Every LPA must have a certificate provider, but you can choose to skip this for now and decide upon your certificate provider later.

 
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Who should be notified about the LPA?

You can choose to inform independent third parties that you are registering an LPA. The purpose of this step is that it allows you to inform any individuals that may have concerns about the LPA (for example if you were being pushed into making an LPA), so that they can raise any concerns or objections during the registration process.
When the LPA is submitted for registration, these people will be notified of that fact, which gives them the opportunity to raise any concerns. You do not have to notify any third parties if you do not want to.

 
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Preferences and Instructions

This is optional. You are able to tell your Attorney(s) how you would prefer them to make decisions or give them specific instructions which they must follow when making decisions. Most people leave this section blank. We recommend that you are not too restrictive with your Attorneys, as the purpose of an LPA is that you appoint Attorney(s) who will put your best interests first in any event. You can always communicate any preferences or informal wishes outside of the LPA, by speaking to or writing to your Attorney(s).

Fees

There is a registration fee of £82 per LPA that is registered. Please either ensure that we have money on account to be able to pay this on your behalf or supply us with a cheque payable to ‘Office of the Public Guardian’ and write your full name on the back of the cheque. You may be entitled to a reduced registration fee if you receive total annual income of less than £12,000. If you are in receipt of certain categories of means-tested benefits, you may be exempt from this registration fee entirely. Please ensure that you highlight this to us if you think you may be entitled to such a reduction or exemption and we can advise you further.