Legal 500 Leading Firm 2026Â Â /Â The Time Best Law Firms 2026Â /Â 40+ Years of Expert Legal Practice in London
Legal 500 Leading Firm 2026Â Â /Â The Time Best Law Firms 2026Â /Â 40+ Years of Expert Legal Practice in London
A Power of Attorney allows another person to make certain decisions or act on your behalf. The right document depends on the decisions involved and whether you want the authority to continue if you later lose mental capacity. Lewis Nedas Law advises on Lasting Powers of Attorney, Ordinary Powers of Attorney and related later-life planning.
Call +44 20 7387 2032 for confidential advice or complete our online contact form to speak to our Power of Attorney solicitors in London.
Call +44 20 7387 2032 Get in TouchLewis Nedas Law has provided legal services for more than 40 years and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA number 567461. The firm is recognised as a Legal 500 Leading Firm 2026 and is included in The Times Best Law Firms 2026.
Our Wills, Trusts and Probate team advises individuals and families on Lasting Powers of Attorney, Wills, Advance Decisions, probate, estate administration and wider planning for later life.
A Power of Attorney is a legal arrangement allowing one person, known as the donor, to give authority to another person, known as an attorney, to act or make decisions on their behalf. Different forms of Power of Attorney serve different purposes.
For future planning in England and Wales, many people use a Lasting Power of Attorney, commonly called an LPA. An LPA can be used to give trusted people authority over:
Property and financial affairs
Health and welfare decisions
A person must have the required mental capacity when making an LPA.
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to appoint one or more attorneys to help make decisions or make decisions on your behalf. An LPA can continue to operate if you later lose mental capacity, subject to its terms and the type of LPA involved.
There are two types in England and Wales: a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and a Health and Welfare LPA. You can make one type or both. An LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used.
A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can give your attorney authority over financial matters. Depending on the terms of the document, this may include:
Bank and building society accounts
Paying bills
Managing tax affairs
Property
Investments
Pensions and benefits
Buying or selling property
A registered Property and Financial Affairs LPA can, where the document permits and the donor agrees, be used while the donor still has mental capacity. If the donor later loses capacity, the attorney may continue to act within the authority granted by the LPA.
A Health and Welfare LPA covers decisions concerning personal welfare. This can include:
Medical care
Daily routine
Washing, dressing and eating
Where the donor lives
Care arrangements
A Health and Welfare attorney can only make a particular decision when the donor lacks mental capacity to make that decision themselves. The LPA can address authority concerning life-sustaining treatment, but the donor must make the relevant choice in the LPA document.
An Ordinary Power of Attorney is different from an LPA. It can be useful where someone wants another person to deal with financial or property matters for a limited period. For example, it may be used if the donor is abroad, has difficulty attending to financial matters personally or wants another person to deal with a particular transaction.
An Ordinary Power of Attorney cannot continue to be used once the donor loses mental capacity. This distinction is crucial. Anyone seeking an arrangement that can continue following a future loss of capacity should consider whether an LPA is the appropriate legal document.
Mental capacity is the ability to make a particular decision at the time it needs to be made. Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, a person should be presumed to have capacity unless it is established that they lack it. A person may lack capacity to make a decision if an impairment or disturbance affecting the mind or brain means they cannot:
Understand information relevant to the decision
Retain that information long enough to make the decision
Use or weigh that information as part of the decision-making process
Communicate their decision
Capacity is both decision-specific and time-specific. A person may be able to make some decisions but not others, and their capacity may change over time.
No. A person needs the required mental capacity when making a Lasting Power of Attorney. This is one reason to consider LPAs before they are urgently needed.
If someone has already lost capacity and no suitable LPA exists, an application to the Court of Protection may be required for another person to obtain authority to make certain decisions. The procedure and powers involved are different from making an LPA.
You can appoint one or more attorneys. Your choice deserves careful thought. Attorneys may receive substantial authority over personal, medical or financial matters. Relevant considerations can include:
Whether you trust the person
Whether they understand your wishes
Their ability to manage financial or personal decisions
Whether they are willing to take on the responsibility
Whether joint attorneys will work effectively together
Whether replacement attorneys should be appointed
The rules governing who can act differ depending on the type of LPA and individual circumstances. Our solicitors can explain how different appointment structures may operate before documents are completed.
An attorney must act within the authority granted by the LPA and comply with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Key responsibilities include acting in the donor's best interests and supporting the donor to make their own decisions where possible.
Attorneys dealing with property and finances should keep the donor's money separate from their own, subject to limited practical exceptions such as an existing joint account. Attorneys may need to maintain records and account for decisions they make. They cannot simply use their position for personal benefit. These duties provide important safeguards where another person is entrusted with significant decision-making authority.
Yes. An LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used. The registration process includes checks intended to help protect the donor.
The current Office of the Public Guardian registration fee is £92 for each LPA, so registering both a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and a Health and Welfare LPA currently attracts two fees. Government fees can change, so the applicable charge should be checked when an application is made.
Current GOV.UK guidance states that registration normally takes around 8 to 10 weeks where there are no mistakes in the application. This processing period is another reason to consider making and registering LPAs before an urgent need develops.
Errors in the forms can cause delay and, in some circumstances, require further applications or fees.
A donor can revoke an LPA if they have mental capacity to make that decision. Where a registered LPA is being revoked, the Office of the Public Guardian requires specified steps, including a deed of revocation.
An LPA can end in other circumstances too, depending on matters such as the donor's death, the attorney's position and how appointments have been structured. Legal advice can help where there is uncertainty about whether an LPA remains effective.
A Lasting Power of Attorney is different from a Living Will. The term Living Will usually refers to an Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment. An Advance Decision allows a person to record specified medical treatment they wish to refuse if they later lack capacity to make that decision.
A Health and Welfare LPA appoints another person to make certain welfare decisions when the donor lacks capacity. The timing and terms of these documents can affect how they work together, particularly where life-sustaining treatment is concerned. People considering both should make sure that their documents do not create conflicting instructions.
An LPA can give you greater control over who will deal with your affairs if you later cannot make particular decisions yourself. Without one, family members do not automatically acquire authority to manage another adult's bank accounts, property or healthcare decisions simply by reason of their relationship.
Where no appropriate authority exists and capacity has already been lost, court involvement may be needed. Putting an LPA in place can allow you to choose your attorneys in advance and set out preferences or instructions relevant to their role.
Choose a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, a Health and Welfare LPA, or both.
Select one or more trusted people to act for you. You can also appoint replacement attorneys.
If you appoint more than one attorney, decide whether they should act jointly, separately, or in a combination of both.
You can include guidance for your attorneys and, where appropriate, binding instructions about how they should act.
The donor, attorneys and other required parties complete and sign the relevant LPA documents in the correct order.
A certificate provider confirms that you understand the LPA and are not being pressured into making it.
The LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used.
Registration normally takes several weeks. Errors or objections can delay the process.
Once registered, keep the LPA details secure and make sure your attorneys know where the relevant information is held.
A Property and Financial Affairs LPA may be used earlier if permitted. A Health and Welfare LPA only applies when you lack capacity for the relevant decision.
Lewis Nedas Law has provided legal services for more than four decades.
The firm is recognised as a Legal 500 Leading Firm 2026.
Lewis Nedas Law is included in The Times Best Law Firms 2026.
Our lawyers advise on LPAs, Wills, Advance Decisions, probate, trusts and later-life planning.
Lewis Nedas Law Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA number 567461.
An LPA can continue after loss of capacity. An Ordinary Power of Attorney only operates while the donor has mental capacity.
They are Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare LPAs. You can make either type or both.
No. You must have capacity when making an LPA. If capacity has already been lost, a Court of Protection application may be needed.
Yes. An LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used.
No. A Health and Welfare attorney can only make a particular decision when you lack capacity to make it yourself.
Making a Power of Attorney can help establish who should manage important decisions if you need assistance in the future. Our London private client solicitors advise on Property and Financial Affairs LPAs, Health and Welfare LPAs, Ordinary Powers of Attorney and related later-life planning.
Speak to Lewis Nedas Law by calling +44 20 7387 2032 or complete the firm's online contact form to arrange a confidential consultation with our Power of Attorney solicitors in London.
Call +44 20 7387 2032 Arrange a ConsultationThis page provides general information about Powers of Attorney under the law of England and Wales. It does not constitute legal or financial advice. The authority created by any document depends on its wording, registration status and individual circumstances.
