A step-by-step guide to both types of LPA, the correct signing order, the £92 OPG registration fee, fee reductions, common mistakes that cause rejection, and what happens without one.
This guide is part of ProbateHelp's Wills & Planning guide cluster.
Also searched as: how to make an l p a.
Yes. The OPG's free online service at lastingpowerofattorney.service.gov.uk guides you through every step. You can use the service yourself or get someone to help fill in the forms, but you must make the choices. Consider legal advice where the arrangements or instructions are complex, there is a business or overseas property, or conflict or pressure is a concern.
GOV.UK currently says registration takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes. Depending on the mistake, OPG may let you correct it and apply again within 3 months for the reduced £46 fee.
You must have capacity to make the LPA when you make it. Capacity is decision-specific and time-specific: the question is whether you can understand, retain, use or weigh the relevant information and communicate the decision, with practicable support. A dementia diagnosis does not by itself decide capacity. Seek appropriate professional advice if capacity is uncertain.
Yes. You can appoint attorneys to act jointly, jointly and severally, or jointly for some decisions and jointly and severally for others. Jointly and severally can allow one attorney to act when another is unavailable, but choose the arrangement that fits the decisions and safeguards you need.
A property and financial affairs LPA covers your bank accounts, investments, property, bills, and financial decisions. It can be used while you still have capacity if you choose. A health and welfare LPA covers medical treatment, care home decisions, and day-to-day welfare. It can only be used once you have lost capacity to make those decisions yourself.
Yes, provided you still have mental capacity. You can revoke an LPA at any time by signing a deed of revocation and notifying the OPG and your attorneys. You may be able to remove an attorney by a partial deed of revocation if the remaining appointment can continue. You cannot add or replace an attorney in a registered LPA; that normally requires a new LPA. Once you lose capacity, you cannot revoke an LPA, which is why choosing the right attorneys from the start matters.
No. Your attorney can live anywhere in the world. However, if they manage UK property or finances from abroad, practical difficulties can arise. Ask relevant banks or organisations how an overseas attorney would prove identity and authority, and consider time zones, document handling and access to UK services.
An LPA automatically ends when you die. After death, your attorneys have no authority to act. Your personal representatives deal with the estate under the will and/or intestacy rules once the required authority is established. This is why having both a will and an LPA matters: they cover different stages of life.