What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney is a legal document giving your chosen Attorney (or Attorneys) authority to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to manage your own affairs, or if you decide that you would like some help in dealing with various matters. You can create a Power of Attorney for Property and Financial matters, and a separate document for Health and Welfare matters.


You can make LPA documents yourself, so why use a solicitor?

The creation of the document and registration process can be extremely onerous if you are not familiar with legal terms or procedures, and potentially the final document you end up with may not actually work in the way you need it to.

Did you know there are at least three different ways of appointing your Attorneys? If you get that wrong, your LPA may become invalid or unworkable without you knowing.

An LPA has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used.

There is a strict procedure required when completing and signing LPA documents before the registration can take place.  If you get that wrong, the document will be rejected by the Office of the Public Guardian.

In 2024 over 50,000 applications to register LPAs were rejected

In 2024 over 50,000 applications to register LPAs were rejected by the Office of the Public Guardian meaning that new forms were required, repeat applications had to be made, or amendments made to the forms before registration could take place, all potentially incurring additional fees and causing delays. We will endeavour to ensure that your documents are not rejected.

We’re here to help

Our specialist LPA team can advise you from start to finish on the LPA procedure from creation to registration of the document. We will discuss who you would like to appoint as your Attorney or Attorneys and their suitability to do so, and in which way to appoint them. We will consider with you whether or not to include any guidance or instructions to your Attorneys for specific matters, and we will ensure all relevant signatures are obtained in a timely manner, and will undertake the registration process on your behalf.


Contact the authors

Please contact Emma, Kelly or Laura for more details or to arrange an appointment at any of our offices. Home visits may also be available for those who are unable to travel to an office.

This article was written by Emma, Kelly and Laura.

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