If you lose mental capacity without a Lasting Power of Attorney, your family cannot manage your finances or make care decisions without going to court. This guide explains what happens, what it costs, and why it matters.
This guide is part of ProbateHelp's Wills & Planning guide cluster.
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No. A spouse has no automatic legal authority to manage the other's sole accounts, pension, or property if they lose mental capacity. A bank may restrict access to a sole account until satisfactory authority is shown; access to a joint account depends on its mandate and the bank's rules. Without an LPA or EPA, your spouse may need to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order.
An LPA is made in advance, by you, while you have capacity. You choose your attorney and the scope of their authority. If capacity is later lost, first check for an existing LPA or EPA and whether a narrower arrangement, such as DWP appointeeship for benefits or a one-off Court of Protection order, is enough. Where ongoing decisions require it, the Court of Protection can appoint a deputy, define the deputy's powers and require OPG supervision. Timing and cost depend on the application.
Possibly, yes. A dementia diagnosis does not automatically mean you lack mental capacity. Capacity is assessed decision by decision, so someone with early-stage dementia may still have capacity to make an LPA. If there is any doubt, ask a solicitor or another suitable professional to help document the capacity assessment.
Clinicians must make treatment decisions under the Mental Capacity Act best-interests rules and, where practical and appropriate, consult people involved in the person’s welfare. A family member has no automatic power to decide. A health and welfare attorney can decide only within the registered LPA and when the donor lacks capacity for that decision; life-sustaining-treatment authority must be expressly given and any valid applicable advance decision must also be checked.
GOV.UK currently lists a £432 application fee, a £266 hearing fee if the court lists one, a £100 assessment fee for new deputies, and annual supervision fees. General supervision is £320 a year. Minimal supervision is £35 a year and applies to some property and financial affairs deputies managing less than £21,000; check the current OPG category and fee rules. A property and financial affairs deputy may also need a security bond, and professional fees vary by case.
Yes. The Office of the Public Guardian provides an online service at gov.uk/power-of-attorney. You can complete the forms online, but the LPA still needs the right signatures, witnesses and certificate provider, and it must be sent to the OPG for registration before it can be used.