Lasting powers of attorney and deputyships

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to appoint someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you lose mental capacity or, in some financial cases, while you still have capacity.

A Deputyship Order is a legal appointment made by the Court of Protection. It allows someone to make decisions for a person who has already lost mental capacity and did not make a Lasting Power of Attorney while they were well.

An LPA is a proactive measure made by choice while a person still has full mental capacity. A Deputyship is a reactive application made to a court after someone has already lost the ability to make decisions for themselves.

If a person has already developed severe dementia, suffered a catastrophic stroke, or otherwise lost mental capacity without an LPA in place, it is too late to make an LPA. A Deputyship application is then the only remaining option.

Yes, significantly so. Creating an LPA is faster, much cheaper, and crucially gives you total control over who looks after you. A Deputyship takes months, costs thousands of pounds in court fees, and leaves the final choice of manager up to a judge.

There are two completely separate types:
Property and Financial Affairs LPA
Health and Welfare LPA

A Financial LPA covers banking, paying bills, managing pensions, and selling property. A Health and Welfare LPA covers medical treatments, life-sustaining care, choosing a care home, and your daily welfare routines.

Yes. An LPA is completely useless until it has been formally registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

Registration usually takes several weeks, though the OPG backlog can vary. This is why it is vital to draft and register your LPA long before you think you might actually need it.

Yes, provided you still have mental capacity. You can formally revoke an attorney or cancel the document entirely. However, if you want to add new attorneys, you must usually draft a brand-new LPA.

If you appointed “replacement attorneys” when you originally drafted the document, they can step in. If you did not name replacements and have no other surviving attorneys, the LPA becomes invalid.

No. This is a common and dangerous myth. Being a spouse or civil partner does not give you the automatic legal right to access your partner’s solo bank accounts, manage their bills, or dictate their medical treatments if they become incapacitated.

You should choose someone you trust implicitly, such as a family member, close friend, or a professional like a solicitor. They must possess the skill to manage your affairs responsibly and are legally bound to act only in your best interests.

Yes. You can appoint multiple attorneys and specify whether they must make decisions together (jointly) or whether they can act independently (jointly and severally).

Yes. Once a Property and Financial Affairs LPA is registered, your attorneys can manage your money, though you can specify that they are only allowed to do this after you lose capacity.

Yes. If selling your home is deemed to be in your best interests (for example, to fund care home fees) and it is permitted under the terms of your LPA, your attorney has the authority to sell the property.

Usually a family member or close friend applies. If no one is willing or suitable, or if the estate is highly complex, a professional deputy (such as a specialist solicitor) can be appointed by the court.

Yes. The Court of Protection does not restrict applications to married relatives; they will appoint an unmarried partner provided they are deemed a suitable and fit person to act.

A deputy’s powers are strictly limited to what is written in the specific Court of Protection order. Most orders cover property and finance; health and welfare deputyships are exceptionally rare and highly restricted.

A Deputyship application typically takes several months to be granted, due to the extensive medical evidence, background checks, and court notifications required.

Aside from independent solicitor fees, there are several mandatory statutory costs:
-An application fee of £371 payable to the Court.
-A one-off £100 Deputy Assessment fee.
-An annual supervision fee of £320 paid to the Office of the Public Guardian (the organisation that supervises Deputies).
-An annual insurance policy premium (a security bond). Because a Deputy is in charge of another person’s assets, the Court insists on this policy to protect the estate.

Note on Fees: Depending on the incapacitated person’s income and capital, there may be a total exemption or a partial reduction of these fees. All of these costs are normally paid directly from the individual’s funds, or you can pay them upfront and be refunded from their estate at a later date.

Even with a Deputyship Order, your powers are not absolute. Crucially, you cannot:
–Make or change a person’s will: If a will needs to be created or altered, you must apply to the Court of Protection for a Statutory Will, which the court must formally approve.
–Give unrestricted gifts: There are strict rules governing gifting. Depending on the size of the gift and the occasion, you may need to apply to the Court of Protection for explicit approval.
–Make health and welfare decisions: A Property and Financial Affairs Deputy has no authority to make decisions about medical treatment or where a person lives. These welfare matters are a separate domain often decided by local authority “best interests meetings” (though a financial deputy is usually invited to participate if there are financial implications).

If a caveat is entered or a formal legal challenge is made, the entire probate process is frozen. The estate cannot be distributed until the dispute is resolved through negotiation or a court judgment.

Executors face personal financial liability if they distribute an estate incorrectly, fail to pay the correct tax to HMRC, or pay the wrong beneficiaries. This is why many executors prefer to use a professional.

You will need the original will, the official death certificate, and as much paperwork as possible regarding the deceased’s bank accounts, pensions, utility bills, and property deeds.

Yes. A solicitor can offer a “Full Estate Administration” service, taking care of the tax forms, clearing the debts, selling properties, and dealing with beneficiaries on your behalf to remove the stress and legal risk.

Using a specialist solicitor protects you from personal financial liability, ensures complex tax calculations are completed flawlessly, and guarantees that the estate is wound up as quickly and harmoniously as possible.