What are Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and the upcoming changes to the Office of the Public Guardian fees for LPAs

What is a Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA)?

A Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPA) is a legal document by which you can give somebody you trust the authority to act on your behalf in relation to either your finances or to make health and care decisions for you when you no longer have mental capacity.  

Types of Lasting Powers of Attorney

There are two types of LPAs

• LPAs for property and financial affairs, which allows the attorney/s to make decisions about bank accounts, money management and property owned by the donor

• LPAs for health and welfare, which allows the attorney/s to make decisions about health care and medical treatment. This includes dietary requirements for religious or ethical purposes

LPAs can be tailored to reflect specific wishes for treatment, which can save further issues or potential lifestyle choices being overlooked in error, as a result of unclear or conflicting beliefs on how an individual may wish to be treated.

The Office of the Public Guardian

Although each LPA is a standalone document, most clients complete both LPAs at the same time. Once the LPAs are finalised, the signed and witnessed LPA is sent to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for registration.  The OPG will be increasing their fees on 17 November 2025 from £82 per application to £92, however you may be eligible for a reduction or even an exemption. 

What are the common mistakes made when completing a Lasting Powers of Attorney?

There are several potential pitfalls that can be made when completing an LPA, which can result in an unsuccessful registration of an LPA, including, but not limited to:

• Signing the forms, or even individual sections in the wrong order

• Providing only partial or incorrect information

• Ensuring that the Certificate Provider is independent and impartial 

• Ensuring that Witnesses are suitable; they must be over 18, and the attorney/replacement attorney is not able to witness the donor’s signature, whilst the donor is unable to witness the attorney’s signature

• Submitting pages in the wrong order, or missing pages

As many would agree, submitting LPA forms successfully is not always straightforward, and the delays can be time-consuming and frustrating.

Meet your LPA specialist legal team

Our specialist private client lawyers in London, Kent and the South East have extensive, and specialist experience of advising, preparing and submitting LPAs on behalf of clients, saving significant time, and potential costs. We can not only ensure that your LPA is prepared correctly to avoid common mistakes mentioned above, but we can also help with instructions and preferences, capacity and certificate provider. We aim to make the process simple, stress-free, and tailored to you, so you can plan for the future with confidence. 

Our LPA offer to you

While it can be difficult to think about yourself or a loved one losing mental capacity, it is wise to anticipate and prepare.  For clients who instruct us to prepare their LPAs in October, we are pleased to offer a 10% reduction on our usual fees (t&cs apply).

Please do get in touch with a member of our Private Client team if you would like to discuss your LPA enquiry on 020 8290 0440.