Power of Attorney

Sometimes people wish to plan ahead and set out in advance what they would like to happen should they become unable to make decisions for themselves in the future. A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is an important legal document that enables a person who has capacity and is over 18 (Donor) to choose another person or people (Attorney(s)) to make decisions on their behalf. There are 2 different types of LPAs:

A property and affairs LPA is for decisions about finances, such as selling the Donor's house or managing their bank account; and
A personal welfare LPA is for decisions about both health and personal welfare, such as where to live, day-to-day care or having medical treatment.
An Attorney is appointed to make decisions as if they were the Donor themselves. An Attorney must act in the Donor's best interests and have regard to the Code of Practice.

An LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used. An unregistered LPA will not give the Attorney any legal powers to make a decision for the Donor. The Donor can register the LPA while they have capacity, or the Attorney can apply to register the LPA at any time.